


Together At Last

by LizzeXX



Series: The Lunar Cycle [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: 10-Specials rewrite, Action/Adventure, Bad things happen on Mars, Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Drama, Embedded Images, Episode: s03e05-06 The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, F/M, Gallifrey, Links, Mars, Mental Institutions, Mind Link, Original Character - Freeform, Original Characters: Evy Daniels - Freeform, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Romance, San Helios, Soulmates, Telekinesis, The Doctor and Evy FINALLY get together, The Doctor and Evy are Links, The Doctor/Evy, The Doctor/Evy Daniels - Freeform, The Last Great Time War, The Lunar Cycle, The Master's Sister, Theta/Luna - Freeform, Thuna - Freeform, Thuna - Relationship - Freeform, Time Lord Victorious, Time Travel, Travel, doctor who - Freeform, linking, space travel, time lady - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 67,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25639417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzeXX/pseuds/LizzeXX
Summary: Evy has saved Donna from the meta-crisis and the Doctor finally admitted his feelings for our resident Time Lady, completing the Link with her. How will this new step in their relationship affect their travels? What will happen when the Master returns?10/OCTime Lady
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Original Female Character(s), The Doctor (Doctor Who) & Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Lunar Cycle [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1104399
Kudos: 28





	1. The Next Doctor (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> I have been plagiarized many times since I began writing fanfiction :( So please, do not copy my work onto other sites. And if you see my work, whether in full or tweaked or mish-mashed into other people's works, reach out to me on tumblr (LizzeXX) and let me know so I can look into it, post evidence on my tumblr's 'Plagiarizers' page, and ask for help reporting when it happens :(
> 
> I have seen it all by now. From people flat out copying everything and just pasting it as is, to changing the OC's name or from 3rd to 1st person, to alternating parts of their own work with putting in parts of mine, to starting off originally and then transitioning to my work, to using Proffy for 1 story then switching to Evy in their next, to people literally taking chunks from 5 different series and piecing it together into a story, so please, PLEASE, let me know if you see it happening. I am nervous enough posting this on AO3 or any other site, it is reassuring to me if people can keep an eye out and just let me know if you see anything happening :(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! This is the third story in my (now officially titled) Lunar Cycle, named after my OC/Time Lady, Evy, whose true name on Gallifrey is Luna. This is going to be a revision of the specials of the 10th Doctor to include Evy. This story should be updated every day, with two chapters per episode but 1 chapter per episode for 2-parters like The End of Time. This will also include the SJA episode The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith as 1 chapter, making a total of 9 chapters. For those of you just joining, I would recommend reading the first and second story of the Cycle (The Hidden Lady of Time and Alone No Longer) before reading this to understand what Linking is, as it will come up quite a bit, and Evy's history with the Doctor.
> 
> Evy is currently in her 10th incarnation, a tall woman with pale skin, black straight hair with the part hidden by a strip of hair held back by a small pin. She has blue eyes. She tends to wear a sleeveless dress in various colors, with colored leggings, black motor boots, and, at times, a maroon frock style coat made of a velvet-like material with the edges of the sleeves pulled back a bit. (I imagine someone like Caterina Scorsone from the syfy mini-series Alice.)
> 
> ~8~ is a scene break
> 
> 'italics' is telepathic speaking
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who...or we would have known more than a week and a half in advance than when Series 7 was starting!
> 
> Allons-y!

Evy and the Doctor were lying on the Doctor's bed, well, on _their_ bed, on their sides, staring at each other, Evy's left arm lying between their bodies, held by the Doctor's right. She had finally told him all about her time at the Mason Institute, not that she had to as he had seen it all when he'd Linked to her, but she felt like she owed it to him after having kept it hidden for so long.

"I understand why you didn't tell me," he told her quietly, his left hand brushing a lock of hair from her eyes.

"I don't think I do," she sighed, "Not really. It was like, I _wanted_ to tell you, I didn't want there to be secrets but…something just kept stopping me."

He stared deep into her eyes, searching her thoughts, putting words to them, "You were scared, that I would see you as less than who you are," he smiled softly, "As though that were possible."

She smiled as well.

He grew serious, "Why were you scared of me Linking to you?" he looked at her, he'd sensed it right after he'd Linked to her, she had been terrified of it. He knew why, but she needed to say it, to get it out there.

"Lots of things," she admitted, "That you hadn't been ready. That you'd still want Rose even after…that you wouldn't feel anything for me period."

She had gotten quite good at forcing herself not to see the love growing between them.

He nodded slowly, there had been one or two cases in all of Gallifrey's history of a set of Links where one party felt the love that often developed while the other party just saw them as someone they shared a connection with and nothing more.

"You believed you didn't deserve love," she said quietly, "I know that was why you thought you'd never find your Link."

"You," he whispered, smiling.

"Me," she agreed with a little laugh, "I think I believed I didn't deserve you…that I wouldn't be good enough for you," she laughed a bit, more scornfully though, "I'm no Rose."

He reached out and cupped her cheek, "You're right, you're not Rose," he leaned forward and kissed her gently, "You're you. You're Evy. You're Luna."

He pulled back just enough so that their foreheads were still touching and smiled at her.

"I love you," he whispered.

She smiled, "I love you too."

~8~

The Doctor had a trip planned out, though Evy was a bit nervous as he was currently hiding those thoughts from her so she had no idea what lay outside the TARDIS. But she trusted the Doctor. It was either going to be a calm trip…she snorted to herself…or one full of adventure, her favorites.

He stood by the door, holding her coat to help her into it, taking a moment to take her in, her forest green dress and red leggings were perfect for this trip even if she didn't know it yet. He smiled, taking her hand and leading her outside. They were under a stone bridge with snow all over the ground. She smiled, she did love the snow, actual real snow and not ones that resulted in some sort of atmospheric disturbance. She looked at the Doctor, laughing as he turned and led her along and into a busy street market. There were stalls decked out with green garlands and red bows, hawkers of mistletoe and chestnuts as well as carolers. Everyone was dressed in late 19th century garb.

Evy laughed at the sight, it was beautiful.

"Like it?" the Doctor asked.

"I love it," she told him.

He beamed, "I know you love period trips," he shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant, "So I thought, why not?"

She shook her head at him before pulling him down into a chaste kiss.

The Doctor's eyes danced with happiness as he looked around and spotted a boy standing at a stall, "You there, boy. What day is this?"

"Christmas Eve, sir," the boy nodded.

"What year?"

"You thick or something?"

Evy just managed to hide her snort of amusement behind her hand as the Doctor sent her a mock glare before turning to the boy, "Oi. Just answer the question."

The boy sighed, "Year of our Lord 1851, sir."

"Right," he nodded, "Nice year. Bit dull."

"Hey!" Evy lightly slapped him on the arm.

Before either of them could get into a good-natured bicker about period Earth vs. futuristic Alien trips a shout drew their attention.

"Doctor!" someone yelled. They looked around, trying to see who that had been, but there was no one, "Doctor!"

"Who, me?" he asked, looking down at Evy who could only shrug.

"Dull you were saying?" she smirked as they took off running. They headed down in the direction the shout had come from, turning a corner into an alley were there was a black woman in a red dress backing nervously away from a bolted door.

"Doctor!" she shouted.

"Don't worry, don't worry," the Doctor ran up to her.

"Stand back," Evy pulled her back.

"What have we got here?" he asked as growling came from behind the doors, "Oh," and then something slammed against the doors, making them rattle, "Ok, I've got it."

"Whatever's behind that door isn't docile," Evy turned to the woman seriously, "You should get out of here, get somewhere safe."

The woman just ignored them both and continued to call out, "Doctor!"

Evy frowned and looked at the Doctor, confused, he was standing right there.

"No, I'm standing right here," he frowned as well, "Hello."

"Don't be so stupid, who are you?" the woman demanded, looking between the two of them.

"I'm Evy," Evy replied.

"And I'm the Doctor," he added.

"Doctor who?" she frowned.

"Just the Doctor."

"Well, there can't be two of ya," she said, looking behind him as another man, dressed in a period suit came running up, "Where the hell have you been?"

"Don't worry," he stepped forward, ushering them back, "Stand back. What have we got here, then?"

"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor shook his head, "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor," the man replied. Evy's eyes widened as did the Doctor's, "Simply the Doctor. The one, the only, and the best. Rosita, give me the sonic screwdriver."

The woman handed him something too quickly for either Evy or the Doctor to get a proper look.

"What?" the Doctor breathed.

"Now quickly, get back to the TARDIS," the Other Doctor told Rosita.

"Back to the what?" Evy shook her head.

"Stand back, sir, ma'am," the Other Doctor glanced back at them, "This is a job for a Time Lord."

"Job for a what lord?" the Doctor gaped.

The door burst open to reveal a creature with a shaggy, furry, black body and a metal Cyberman mask where its face should have been.

"Well that's different," Evy commented as the Doctor reached into his pocket.

"Oh, that's new," the Other Doctor said at the same time.

Both he and the Doctor aimed their sonic screwdrivers at the creature, "Allons-y!" they cried before looking at each other, stunned, while the creature looked between them.

"I've been hunting this beast for a good fortnight," the Other Doctor said to the Doctor, "Now step back, sir."

The creature leapt over them and clung to the wall of the building behind them.

"It's rather primitive isn't it?" Evy frowned at the creature before looking at the Doctor, "Looks like they took the brain of a cat or dog and..."

"Well, talking's all very well," the Other Doctor cut in, "Rosita!"

"I'm ready," Rosita nodded, handing him a lasso which he then proceeded to swing over his head. The Doctor pulled Evy back to give him room.

"Now, watch and learn," the Other Doctor released the rope and managed to catch the creature, "Excellent. Now then, let's pull this timorous beastie down to Earth…"

He tugged on the rope but the creature just scaled the building, taking the Other Doctor with him as though he were weightless.

"Or not," the Doctor commented.

"I might be in a little bit of trouble," the Other Doctor called as he was dragged farther up.

"Haven't changed that much I see," Evy frowned as the Doctor ran up.

"I've got you!" the Doctor called, grabbing hold of the rope, only to be pulled up the building as well.

"You idiots!" Rosita and Evy called at the same time. Evy looked over at the woman before something caught her eye.

"One moment," Evy smiled at her, excusing herself as she ran and grabbed an axe lying against a wall and ran up the stairs into the building, making sure to listen in on the Doctor as she ran.

"Perhaps if you could pull?" the Other Doctor was asking.

"I _am_ pulling," the Doctor replied, "In this position, I couldn't not pull, could I?"

"Then I'd suggest you let go, sir!"

"I'm not letting you out of my sight, Doctor. Don't you recognize me?"

"No, should I? Have we met? This is hardly the right time for me to go through my social calendar."

They were pulled again just as Evy reached the top floor of the warehouse. She slammed open the door to see the creature running across the floor, pulling the Doctors with him, straight towards a window.

"It's gonna jump!" the Doctor called.

Evy ran.

"We're gonna fall!" the Other Doctor shouted.

And then she swung the axe, chopping the rope just before the Other Doctor reached the window. They both tumbled from the sudden stop. Evy leaned against the wall, catching her breath as she watched them slowly stand, groaning and wincing.

Evy shook her head and walked over to them, "That's what you get for getting your arm caught in a rope," she lightly scolded the Doctor.

He just flashed her a wink before they all started laughing. The two Doctors hugged each other in excitement.

"Doctor!" Rosita gasped from the doorway, running over to check on her Doctor while Evy walked over to her own.

"You alright?" she asked, giving him the onceover.

"Oh you know me," he put an arm around her, leading her out behind the Other Doctor and Rosita.

"That's why I asked," she rolled her eyes at him.

The Doctor just laughed, still running on adrenaline, as they headed down the stairs and outside once more.

"Well, I'm glad you think it's _so_ funny," Rosita glared back at the Doctors, "You're mad. Both of you. You could've got killed."

"But, evidently, we did not," the Other Doctor laughed, stepping next to her and turning back to the Doctor and Evy, "Oh, I should introduce Rosita. My faithful companion, always telling me off."

"They always do," Evy smirked, glancing at the Doctor, both of them thinking of Donna.

"Rosita?" the Doctor commented, looking at the woman, "Good name. Hello, Rosita. And this is Evy my…well," he glanced down at her and smiled, "My Evy."

"Now I'll have to go and dismantle the traps," Rosita snapped, turning to her Doctor, a bit put off, "All that for nothing. And we've only got 20 minutes till the funeral, don't forget," she started to walk away, calling back to the Other Doctor as she went, "Then back to the TARDIS, right?"

"Funeral?" Evy frowned.

"Oh, long story," the Other Doctor waved her off, "Not my own, not yet," he bent over, tired, "Oh, I'm not as young as I was."

"Well, not as young as you were when you were me," the Doctor commented. Evy elbowed him.

"When I was who?"

"You really don't recognize me?"

"Not at all."

"What about Evy?" he nodded over at her, "Recognize her?"

"Should I?"

Evy frowned, eyeing the man closely.

"But you're the Doctor," the Doctor said slowly, "The next Doctor. Or the next-but-one. A future Doctor anyway."

"Oh!" he nodded.

"No, no, don't tell me how it happened," the Doctor stepped back, shaking his head, "Although...I hope I don't just trip over a brick…"

"That would be embarrassing," Evy commented, recalling the numerous ways he'd been led to regeneration before.

"Then again, painless. Worse ways to go, depends on the brick."

"You're gabbling, sir," the Other Doctor cut in, "Now, might I ask, who are you, exactly?"

"No," the Doctor hesitated, trying to think of something, "I'm, uh..."

"Smith," Evy answered, "John Smith."

"Right," he nodded, "John Smith…that's me…but I've heard all about you, Doctor. Bit of a legend, if I say so myself."

Evy couldn't help but roll her eyes at his ego.

"Modesty forbids me to agree with you, sir," the Other Doctor answered a bit embarrassedly, "But yes. Yes, I am."

Evy raised an eyebrow, this one was almost _modest_? That certainly was a change.

"A legend with certain memories missing," the Doctor continued, "Am I right?"

"How do you know that?" he frowned.

"You've forgotten me. You've forgotten Evy."

"Great swathes of my life have been stolen away. When I turn my mind to the past, there's nothing."

"Going how far back?" Evy asked.

"Since the Cybermen. Masters of that hellish wall-scuttler and old enemies of mine, now at work in London Town. You won't believe this, Mr. Smith, Miss uh…"

"Just Evy," she replied.

"Daniels," the Doctor answered, smirking at her as she glared at him, he knew how much she disliked formalities.

"Miss Daniels," he nodded, "But they are creatures from another world."

"Really?" the Doctor said slowly, "Wow."

"It's said they fell onto London, out of the sky in a blaze of light. And they found me…" he trailed, as though recalling the event, "Something was taken. And something was lost," he looked up at them, "What was I like? In the past?"

"We can't tell you," Evy began, cutting off the Doctor as he opened hos mouth, "I'm sorry but you have to be _very_ careful dealing with memory loss."

"It's strange, though," he looked at them suspiciously, "I talk of Cybermen from the stars and you and Miss Daniels..."

"Evy," she tried to insist.

But he ignored her, "...don't even blink, Mr. Smith."

"Ah, don't blink, remember that?" the Doctor asked, seeing an opening, "Whatever you do, don't blink? The blinking and the statues? Sally and the angels? No?"

The Other Doctor just stared at him oddly, "You're a very odd man."

"You know, you're not the first to say that," Evy remarked.

"Hmm, I still am," the Doctor added in thought as he looked at the Other Doctor, "Something's wrong here."

Suddenly the man jumped up, "Oh, the funeral! The funeral's at two o'clock. It's been a pleasure, Mr. Smith, Miss Daniels..."

"Evy!" she huffed.

"Don't breathe a word of it."

"Can't we come with you?" the Doctor asked, inwardly laughing at Evy's mental grumblings.

He knew why she was so adamant about people not calling her Miss Daniels and using her first name instead. She'd spent _years_ on Earth, acting as a human, taking a last name to fit in. She'd had to hide who she was far longer than she did when travelling with him, she had to be the human Miss Evelyn Daniels. Now...now she was free to be the Time Lady Evelyn. He often used the name John Smith when posing as a human, but that had never lasted long. She'd had to pose as one for YEARS. It was understandable that she'd rather be called Evy, and known just as that, rather than Miss Daniels. But...he loved seeing her react to it, her expressions were rather cute and always made him laugh.

"It's far too dangerous," the Other Doctor turned to face them, still moving backwards, "Rest assured, I shall keep this city safe. Oh, and, er...Merry Christmas, Mr. Smith, Miss Daniels!" he ran around the corner and was gone before Evy could even call her name after him.

"Something is _very_ wrong," the Doctor mumbled, watching as the Other Doctor disappeared.

"He's not you," Evy spun to face him, "Whoever he is, he's _not_ a future form of you."

"How can you tell?" he asked her, she would have a better sense of it than him. Meeting oneself tended to cancel things out.

"Two very good reasons..."

"He doesn't know who you are…" he guessed.

"No," she shook her head, "He remembers up to the Cybermen, I wasn't around then, so he wouldn't know me."

"Right," he nodded. It felt...odd...to think of that, to know that she hadn't always been there. The Link...it made him feel like she always had, being reminded that she wasn't was a bit disconcerting.

"I can't hear him in my mind," she continued.

"He…he had a fob watch on," he remarked, having just caught the briefest sight of it as the man turned to leave, "Could be he used the Chameleon Arch again."

"But you're Linked to me now Doctor," she shook her head, "You wouldn't be able to survive the transformation, it would suppress the Link too much."

They both were silent as they briefly gave thought to the only way he could possibly use the Chameleon Arch and survive, why he would use it. If something had happened to Evy and the Link was already broken and he'd gone to the Arch as a last resort, as a way to become human, to escape the pain…not that he ever truly would. The human him would have lived a life unloved, unfulfilled, unable to form any sort of relationship with anyone, probably just waste away with an empty feeling in his soul...it was almost a worse fate than living with the agony the severed Link could cause until it could be ended.

He shook his head, reaching out to take Evy's hand, that wasn't an option. He knew in his hearts, if he ever lost her, he wouldn't try to escape the pain, no, he'd find a way to end it and be with her again. But he squeezed her hand, she wasn't dead, she couldn't be, and now he was hoping that the Other Doctor truly wasn't him at all.

"And besides that," she squeezed his hand in return, "I tried to read his mind, it operates on human brainwaves, not even a blip above like yours did when you were human."

He nodded, a bit relieved to hear that the man seemed to be completely human, not Time Lord turned human, "And the second reason?"

"I can't feel the Link."

"If he's a future version of me, I'm not sure that you'd feel it," he reasoned, "It's in the future, he's from a different timeline than you, the Link wouldn't exist between you and the future…different realities…"

She shook her head, he was so new to the Link it was rather cute how much he didn't understand about it, "No, I'd feel it. Doctor I felt the Link split when that other incarnation of you was in the TARDIS, and that was the past. You know the Link transcends space and time, if you're there I feel it. Future, Present, Past. I felt it in 1913, when you were human and the Time Lord essence was in the watch…" she looked back to the end of the alley, "I couldn't feel the essence in the watch either, it's empty, he's a genuine, one hundred percent human."

He took a deep breath, frowning, "So why does he think he's me?"

"I dunno," she shook her head but squeezed his hand again, "Let's find out."

And then they were off, running around the corner to follow the Other Doctor. They managed to track him down quite easily, he was only a few feet away from the alley, watching the funeral procession from a distance with Rosita.

"The late Reverend Fairchild, leaving his place of residence for the last time," they could hear him say, "God rest his soul. Now, with the house empty, I shall effect an entrance at the rear while you go back to the TARDIS. This is hardly work for a woman…"

Evy raised an eyebrow at that.

"Oh, don't mind me saving your life those times," Rosita remarked, "That's work for a woman, isn't it?"

"The Doctor's companion does what the Doctor says. Off you go."

They watched as the Other Doctor and Rosita parted ways.

Evy turned to him, "If...in the off chance that IS you...you _ever_ treat me like that, I'll kill you," and then she turned and snuck off after the Other Doctor.

The Doctor swallowed hard, looking just a bit scared before following after. They both looked on as the Other Doctor made his way surreptitiously towards a house. The Doctor took her hand and led her around the block to the other side, sonicing the front door and getting them inside.

They could hear someone fiddling with the lock in the back of the house and the Doctor strode over and whipped the door open, "Hello," he grinned at the Other Doctor.

"How did you get in?" the Other Doctor asked, shocked, seeing Evy standing behind as well.

"Front door," she answered, jerking a thumb over her shoulder.

"I'm good at doors," the Doctor nodded, frowning at the thing in the Other Doctor's hand, "Um, do you mind my asking, is _that_ your sonic screwdriver?"

"Yeah," he held it up for them to see, it was just a regular old screwdriver, "I'd be lost without it."

"But...that's just an ordinary screwdriver," Evy shook her head, "How is that _sonic_?"

"Well, er, it makes a noise," he tapped it against the doorframe, "That's sonic, isn't it? Now, since we're acting like common burglars, I suggest we get out of plain view."

The Doctor stepped back to let him into the house, shutting the door behind them. He turned around to see that the Other Doctor was already headed down the hall and into another room. He glanced at Evy who just shrugged before they walked after him and saw him rifling through drawers of a desk in a library.

"This investigation of yours, what's it about?" the Doctor asked, just looking around the room with Evy.

"It started with a murder," the Other Doctor replied.

"Oh, good," he grinned when Evy whacked him on the back of the head, "Ow! Bad! I meant bad! But whose?"

"Mr. Jackson Lake, a teacher of mathematics from Sussex. He came to London three weeks ago and died a terrible death."

"From the Cybermen?" Evy asked.

"It's hard to say, his body was never found. But then it started. More secret murders. Then abductions. Children…stolen away in silence."

"So whose house is this?" the Doctor looked over at him as the Other Doctor headed to a book rack.

"The latest murder. The Reverend Aubrey Fairchild. Found with burns to his forehead, like some advanced form of electrocution."

"Who was he?" Evy frowned, "Anyone important to the community?"

"You two ask a lot of questions," he commented, looking up at them suspiciously.

"We're your companions," the Doctor grinned.

"The Reverend was the pillar of the community, a member of many parish boards. A keen advocate of children's charities."

"Children again. But why would the Cybermen want him dead?"

"And what's he got to do with the death of Mr. Lake?" Evy added.

"It's funny," the Other Doctor straightened up, looking at them in thought, "I seem to be telling you everything. As though you engendered some sort of...trust. You seem familiar, Mr. Smith. I know your face. But how?"

Evy would have been offended by not being remembered, however she knew he only remembered up to the Cybermen, long before the Doctor had met her.

"I wonder," the Doctor glanced down, "I can't help noticing you're wearing a fob watch."

"Is that important?" the Other Doctor frowned.

"The legends say that the memories of Time Lords can be sealed inside a watch," Evy answered.

"Do you mind?" the Doctor asked, holding out a hand. The Other Doctor handed him the watch, "It's said that if it's opened..." he opened the watch and all the workings fell to the floor, the watch had been broken for quite a while, "Oh. Maybe not."

' _I told you,_ ' Evy's voice filtered through his mind, ' _It's empty._ '

He nodded, looking down at the watch, ' _Look at that,_ ' he commented, seeing a 'JL' engraved into the back of the watch. He glanced over at Evy who frowned, having seen it through his eyes.

"It's more for decoration," the Other Doctor said.

"Yeah," the Doctor backed away, "Anyway, alien infiltration."

They turned away and began to search the room.

"Look for anything different," the Other Doctor instructed, "Possibly metal. Anything that doesn't seem to belong, perhaps a mechanical device that could fit no Earthly engine."

The Doctor glanced at Evy who subtly pulled out her sonic and began to use it to check around the room before focusing in on a locked desk.

"It could even seem to be organic, but unlike any organism of the natural world," the Other Doctor continued before stopping suddenly, "Shh! What's that noise?"

Evy switched the sonic off and stuffed it in her pocket as she and the Doctor spun to face the Other Doctor, "Oh, it's just him..." Evy nodded at the Doctor, "Whistling," she looked at him, giving him a meaningful glance.

"Oh, right, yeah," he did a whistling impression of the sonic screwdriver's sound for a moment before spinning to face the desk Evy had just unlocked, "I wonder what's in here, though..." he pointed to the desk before opening it, "Ah…" he pulled out a metal cylinder, "Different and metal, you were right. Infostamps."

"At a guess," Evy added quickly, "And, also at a guess, I'd wager that they work like this..." she pressed one end of the cylinder and images projected onto the wall before them, "Compressed information," she mumbled, watching it, "Quite a lot of it."

The Doctor put on his specs and squinted at the wall, "That is the history of London, 1066 to the present day."

"This is just like a Cyberdisk," Evy shook her head, glancing up at the Doctor, "But why would _Cybermen_ need something this simple?"

He shook his head, taking the stamp from her as he continued to watch the projection, "They've gotta be wireless. Unless...they're in the wrong century, they haven't got much power. They _need_ plain old basic infostamps to update themselves and…"

"Are you alright?" Evy asked.

He looked over to see the Other Doctor had paled considerably and collapsed into a chair, looking distraught.

"I'm fine," the Other Doctor waved her off as she came to crouch before him.

"No, what is it?" the Doctor asked, joining her, "What's wrong?"

"I've seen one of these before," he said quietly, taking the stamp from the Doctor, "I was holding...this device, the night I lost my mind. The night I regenerated…" he looked pained as he thought more on the event, "The Cybermen, they made me change. My mind, my face, my whole self. And _you_ were there," he looked at the Doctor, startled, "Who are you?"

"Friends. I swear."

"Then I beg you, John," he reached out to the Doctor, "Help me."

"The two words he can never refuse," Evy smiled softly as the Doctor stood and helped her up.

"But it's not a conversation for a dead man's house," the Doctor continued, "It'll make more sense if we go back to the TARDIS...your TARDIS. Hold on, I just need to do a final check. Won't take a tick," he glanced at Evy who nodded and reached out to help the Other Doctor up as her Doctor began opening doors, "There's one more thing I cannot figure. If this room's got infostamps, then maybe, just maybe, it's got something that needs infostamping…" Evy looked up as he opened a door to see a Cyberman standing there, "Ok!" he slammed the door shut and turned to them, "I think we should run."

He ran forward, grabbing the Other Doctor's arm along with Evy as the Cyberman shoved through the door.

"Run, Doctor!" the Doctor shouted as they pushed him out of the room, "Now, Doctor!"

"Delete!" the Cyberman shouted.

They ran into the front of the house, almost getting to the door when another Cyberman appeared.

"The Doctor will be deleted," it stated.

They turned and ran back only to have the first Cyberman break through the door, "Delete!"

"Stairs!" Evy shouted, pulling them back, "We can't lead them outside!"

Evy pushed the Other Doctor up the stairs, only to feel herself being pushed up after him by the Doctor. She turned around halfway up to see him trying to find something to fight the Cybermen off with…and only managing to open an umbrella.

"The sword!" she shouted, pointing to a sword on the wall.

He turned and spotted it, pulling it off the wall just as the second Cyberman arrived.

"Delete!"

He flourished it, "I'm a dab hand with a cutlass. You don't want to come near me when I've got one of these. This is your last warning. No?" the Cybermen kept advancing, "Ok, this is really your last warning! Ok, I give up," he started backing up the stairs, Evy backing further up.

"Delete!"

"Listen to me properly!" he begged, backing up more, they went to strike him but he blocked the blow.

"Doctor!" Evy shouted.

"Whatever you're doing stuck in 1851, we can help!" he tried again, blocking their blows, "We're the only people in the world who can help you! Listen to me!"

"Delete!"

He sighed, going for his last card, "I'm the Doctor. You need me. Check your memory banks, my name's the Doctor. Leave this man alone! The Doctor is me!"

He stumbled to the side as they moved to chop him once more, when Evy came out of nowhere, kicking the Cybermen square in the chests sending them falling back down the stairs. The Doctor looked up to see Evy let go of a small lamp that had been hanging above the corner of the stairs that she'd swung from and land square on the steps once again.

"Oh I love you!" he grinned up at her.

"Delete!"

"Remind me later!" she shouted, helping him up and pulling him back up the stairs.

"The Doctor, remember?" he turned back as the Cybermen pulled themselves up and advanced again, " _I'm_ the Doctor! You need me alive! You need the Doctor, and that's _me_!"

"Delete!"

They had made it to the top of the steps where the Other Doctor was waiting but so had the Cybermen. They backed up just as a flash of energy shot past them and struck the Cybermen in the heads. They looked back to see the Other Doctor had opened one end of the stamp and fired the beams, felling the robots.

"The cyclo-steinham core," Evy breathed.

The Doctor shook his head in amazement, "You ripped open the core and broke the safety, zap!" he laughed, "Only the Doctor would think of that."

"I did that..." the Other Doctor said slowly, "Last time."

"Come here, you'll be ok," Evy reached out and steadied him as he swayed on his feet.

"Let me just check…" the Doctor began, pulling out his stethoscope and placing it on the Other Doctor's chest.

"You told them you were the Doctor," the Other Doctor looked at him, "Why did you do that?"

"He was just trying to protect you," Evy assured him, watching as the Doctor listened to his chest. He glanced over at Evy who looked at the scope, listening as she could hear only one heart beating.

"You're trying to take away the only thing I've got, like they did," the Other Doctor stepped back, "They stole something, something so precious. But I can't remember. What happened to me? What did they do?"

"We'll find out."

"You and Evy and me," the Doctor agreed, "Together."

~8~

It was night by the time they made it back to the alley where Rosita was waiting, pacing nervously.

"Doctor!" she shouted, running over to hug the Other Doctor as soon as she saw them, "I thought you were dead!"

"Now then, Rosita," the Other Doctor stepped back, "A little decorum."

"You've been gone for so long," she said, turning to the Doctor and Evy, "He's always doing this, leaving me behind. Going frantic."

"What about the TARDIS?"

"Oh, she's ready," Rosita smiled, "Come on," she took the Other Doctor's arm and led him away.

"Oh I'm looking forward to this," Evy remarked as she and the Doctor linked arms and followed after. They came to a set of stables, clothes and suitcases scattered throughout. The Doctor and Evy looked around as the Other Doctor talked with Rosita.

"You were right though, Rosita," he was telling his companion, "The Reverend Fairchild's death was the work of the Cybermen."

"You live here?" Evy looked around.

"A temporary base, until we rout the enemy. The TARDIS is magnificent, but it's hardly a home," he stepped into one of the stalls and put a cloth into a basin of water, washing his face.

"And where's the TARDIS now?" the Doctor asked.

"In the yard."

"Er...what's all this luggage?" the Doctor asked, eyeing the suitcases.

"Evidence. The property of Jackson Lake, the first man to be murdered. Oh, but my new friend is a fighter, Rosita, much like myself and with his very own companion. He faced the Cybermen with a cutlass. I'm not ashamed to say, he was braver than I."

As he spoke, Evy caught the Doctor's eye and pulled out her sonic. She slowly walked over to the luggage and flashed it over quickly, Rosita looking up at the sound of it.

"He was quite brilliant," the Other Doctor finished, "Are you whistling again?"

"Yes," the Doctor spun around as Evy shut the sonic off, "Yes, I am, yeah. Yeah."

He glanced over at Rosita and made a 'shh' motion as Evy put the sonic away.

"That's another man's property!" Rosita called as the Doctor moved over to the luggage Evy remained by and opened it.

"Well, a dead man's," he began as Evy whacked him again on the head. He winced but continued to search through the trunk as Evy looked on.

She glanced over at Rosita and smiled, "So how did you two meet?" she gestured to the Other Doctor.

"He saved my life," Rosita sighed, smiling as well, "Late one night, by the Osterman's Wharf, this...creature came out of the shadows. A man made of metal. I thought I was gonna die. And then, there he was. The Doctor. Can you help him?" she asked them, "He has such terrible dreams. Wakes at night in such a state of terror."

"Come now, Rosita," the Other Doctor walked over to them, "With all the things a Time Lord has seen, everything he's lost, he may surely have bad dreams."

The Doctor tensed and Evy laid a hand on his arm, "But with the bad dreams, come so many good," she reminded him softly.

The Doctor looked over and kissed her forehead, "Yeah," he agreed before turning back to the luggage, "Oh, now, look…" he pulled out a stamp, "Jackson Lake had an infostamp."

"But how?" the Other Doctor frowned, "Is that significant?"

"Doctor, the answer to all this is in your TARDIS. Could we see it?"

"Mr. Smith, Miss Daniels," he smiled as Evy just shook her head, having given up, "It would be my honor."

He turned and led them through the stables to a courtyard just outside it. He stopped to just look at the magnificence of his TARDIS before walking over to it with Rosita.

The Doctor and Evy stood and stared at the…hot-air balloon tethered a few feet away.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have now entered the specials! I was debating whether to put that little scene with Evy and the Doctor at the end of Journey's End or at the start of this story, but Journey's end was already epic in length and I thought this would be a cute start to their now Linked lives :) They are definitely still getting used to the idea of being Linked and finally being allowed to be all cozy and sweet with each other without any guilt or anything holding them back.
> 
> The Ponds will definitely appear as companions for my revision of Series 5 and 6. Even though Evy is now in a relationship with the Doctor, they are both even more aware that they are the last ones left. Evy has been known to keep in touch with past companions, who she considers her dearest friends, so they are both open and welcoming of the idea of taking more friends along with them. They love sharing the experience and showing humans the wonders of the Universe. Even though they've got each other, it makes them feel less alone to have other friends travelling with them too. I've definitely got big things planned for the Ponds as well. Trust me, they NEED to be there, especially for Series 6 ;)
> 
> And I just want to take a second to thank all of you readers who have reviewed/read/favorited/followed/liked/or even just glanced at Alone No Longer. It really meant a lot to me whenever I got a new review, it just told me I must be doing something right :)
> 
> Next chapter...Evy gets a Christmas present from the Doctor. We'll discover that Evy's idea of fun might just make a Linked Doctor angry. And Evy's powers make an appearance...will she survive it?


	2. The Next Doctor (Part 2)

"There she is!" the Other Doctor called as he strode forward, grinning at his 'TARDIS,' "My transport through time and space. The TARDIS."

"You've...got a balloon..." the Doctor said slowly as he and Evy walked forward.

"TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. It stands for Tethered Aerial Release Developed in Style. D'you see?"

"Well, I do now. I like it. Good TARDIS. Brilliant. Nice one."

They walked around the outside, peering in at it, "I take it, it's inflated by gas?" Evy guessed.

"We're adjacent to the Mutton Street Gasworks, I pay them a modest fee," the Other Doctor walked over to a young man standing nearby, "Good work, Jed!"

"Glad to be of service, sir," Jed replied as the Other Doctor clapped him on the shoulder and pulled out a number of bills to pay him with.

"That's quite a lot of money you've got there," Evy commented.

"Oh, you get nothing for nothing," he replied, "How's that ripped panel, Jed?"

"All repaired, should work a treat," Jed smiled, "You never know, maybe tonight's the night, Doctor. Imagine it, seeing Christmas from above."

"Well, not just yet, I think. One day, I will ascend. One day soon."

"You've never actually been up?" the Doctor frowned.

"He dreams of leaving, but never does," Rosita told them.

"I can depart, in the TARDIS, once London is safe," he retorted, "And finally, when I'm up there...think of it, John. The time and the space."

"The perfect escape," Evy smiled fondly, taking the Doctor's hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Do you ever wonder what you're escaping from?" the Doctor asked.

"With every moment," he sighed.

The Doctor glanced at Evy who nodded, "Then do you want us to tell you?" he asked, looking back at the Other Doctor and Rosita, "'Cos I think we've worked it out now. How you became the Doctor. What do you think? Do you want to know?"

The Other Doctor stared at them, seeing the seriousness in their eyes. He took a breath before swallowing hard and nodded.

The Doctor nodded as well and led him and Rosita back into the stables with Evy.

"You should probably sit down for this," Evy told them, motioning for them to take a seat as she and the Doctor sat on a suitcase across from them.

The Doctor sighed, squeezing Evy's hand as he began the tale, "The story begins with the Cybermen. A long time away, and not so far from here, the Cybermen were fought and they were beaten, and they were sent into a howling wilderness called the Void, locked inside forevermore. But then a greater battle rose up, so great that everything inside the Void perished."

"This particular battle weakened walls of the worlds which allowed the last of the Cybermen to fall through the dimensions, back through time, here," Evy added, "Where they found you."

"I fought them, I know that," the Other Doctor nodded, "But what happened?"

"At the same time, another man came to London," the Doctor continued, "Mr. Jackson Lake. Plenty of luggage, money in his pocket. Maybe coming to town for the winter season, I don't know. But he found the Cybermen too. And just like you, exactly like you, he took hold of an infostamp."

"But he's dead. Jackson Lake is dead. The Cybermen murdered him."

"And yet there was no body to be found, you told us that yourself," Evy said softly, "Look around you, you even kept his suitcases, you just couldn't bring yourself to open them and see the truth of what lay within."

"I told you the answer was in the fob watch," the Doctor added, "Can I see?" the Other Doctor handed the watch over to the Doctor who flipped it over in his palm to reveal a monogram, "'J.L.' The watch is Jackson Lake's."

"Jackson Lake is...you, sir?" Rosita gasped and turned to the Other Doctor.

"But _I'm_ the Doctor," he frowned.

"You _became_ the Doctor," Evy corrected lightly, reaching out to take the stamp, "Because this stamp, the one you found, contained information about only one man..." she clicked it on and projected it onto the wall, watching as all the Doctor's previous incarnations appeared in order.

"The Cybermen's database," the Doctor said grimly, "Stolen from the Daleks inside the Void, I'd say, but it's everything you could want to know about the Doctor."

And then it ended with him.

"That's you," Jackson gasped.

"Time Lord, TARDIS, enemy of the Cybermen," he clicked his tongue and nodded, "The one and the only. You see? The infostamp must have backfired, streamed all that information about me right inside your head. And you couldn't recognize me because the stamp became corrupt, and you didn't know Evy because I hadn't met her yet."

"I am nothing but a lie…"

Evy shook her head, "That's not true. Those stamps? They're just facts and figures," she reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder, "Everything you've done...your bravery, how you saved Rosita, protecting London, even building your own TARDIS...that was all _you_."

"And what else? Tell me what else?"

Evy blinked and pulled back, realization dawning on her, "That's not what you've forgotten...there's something else, isn't there?"

"I demand you tell me. Tell me what they took!"

"Sorry," the Doctor said sorrowfully, having realized what Evy had not, "Really, I am so sorry. But that's an awful lot of luggage for one man. 'Cos an infostamp is plain technology. It's not enough to make a man lose his mind. What you suffered is called a fugue."

Evy nodded, seeing where he was going, "A fugue state, the mind running away from the pain it knows it would find," she looked up at Jackson, so sad for him, "You _wanted_ to be the Doctor, to be anyone else, because Jackson Lake had already lost too much."

A bell tolled in the distance

"Midnight," Rosita commented, "Christmas Day."

"I remember..." Jackson gasped, "Oh, my God…" his eyes widened in horror, "Caroline. They killed my wife," he fell forward, sobbing, "They killed her."

The Doctor swallowed hard, gripping Evy's hand tightly, she squeezed it back, leaning her forehead against his shoulder in reassurance. She could feel the horrible thankfulness rushing through him that this man really wasn't his future, to have lost the woman he loved.

Rosita leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Jackson in comfort.

A small beeping noise began to resound from the 'Doctor Infostamp.' The Doctor looked down at it, taking it from Evy, when the stamp they'd found in the Reverend's house beeped as well. Evy picked it up, the two of them rising and holding out the stamps. They turned in a slow circle, the beeping growing louder towards one of the suitcases. They walked over to another trunk and Evy opened it.

"Oh..." the Doctor breathed, passing Evy his stamp to pull out a belt of them, "You found a whole cache of infostamps."

"But what is it?" Rosita looked up, "What's that noise?"

"Activation. A call to arms. The Cybermen are moving!"

The Time Lords turned and ran out of the stables only to see the shadows of the Cybermen heading towards them. Rosita ran out after them, watching as a parade of orphans walked by, ushered by an older gentleman in a suit with two blinking earpieces on.

"What is it?" she asked, "What's happening? That's Mr. Cole. He's Master of the Hazel Street Workhouse. Maybe he's taking them to prayers."

"Oh, nothing as holy as that," the Doctor replied, walking over to Mr. Cole, keeping in time with him as Evy went around to his other side, "Can you hear me? Hello? No? Mr. Cole, you seem to have something in your ear. Now, this might hurt a bit, but if I can just..." he reached into his pocket for his sonic.

' _Doctor,_ ' Evy warned. He looked up to see her staring at one of the shaggy Cyber beasts down the street, watching them.

"They're on guard," she said looking at him, "We can't risk a fight."

He nodded, "Not with the children."

"But where are they going?" Rosita asked.

"All need a good whipping, if you ask me," Jed walked up to them, "There's tons of 'em. I've just seen another lot coming from the Ingleby Workhouse down Broadback Lane."

"Where's that?" Evy turned to Rosita.

"This way!" she shouted, running off down a side street until they came to another group of children being led by another elderly gentleman, earpieces in his ears as well, "There's dozens of 'em!"

"But what for?" the Doctor asked, watching as all the children were grouped together before a large set of wooden double doors. The doors opened and two Cybermen stepped forward. The kids cowered in fear.

"You will continue," the elderly man said in monotone, "You will enter the Court of the CyberKing," a small boy tried to escape but was herded back by the beasts, "March. That is an order. March!"

And so the children did.

"That's the door to the sluice," Rosita said, "All the sewage runs through there, straight into the Thames."

"We'll never be able to sneak past those guards," Evy shook her head, "We need another way in."

The Doctor took her hand as they turned to head back and find another way, only to find their path blocked by two Cybermen.

"Whoa!" the Doctor called, pushing Evy behind him, "That's cheating, sneaking up! Did you have your legs on silent?"

Then a woman in a bright red dress strolled up to stand in front of the Cybermen, glancing over at the trio, "So...what do we have here?"

"Just walk towards me, slowly," he began, motioning for the woman to step away, she was in serious danger, "Don't let them touch you."

"Oh, but they wouldn't hurt me, my fine boys. They are my knights in shining armor. Quite literally."

"Even if they've converted you, that's not a CyberSpeech pattern. You've still got free will. Step away..."

' _Doctor…_ ' Evy's voice whispered as she laid a hand on his arm, slowly lowering them as she stepped beside him, ' _I don't think she WANTS to be free…I think she's working with them._ '

As though to confirm Evy's thoughts the woman spoke again, "There's been no conversion, sir. No one's ever been able to change my mind. The Cybermen offered me the one thing I wanted, liberation."

"Who are you?" Rosita asked.

"You can be quiet," the woman sneered, "I doubt he paid you to talk. More importantly, who are you, sir, with such intimate knowledge of my companions?"

"I'm the Doctor," he replied, "And this is Evy."

"Incorrect," a Cyberman spoke, "You do not correspond to our image of the Doctor."

' _Doctor!_ ' Evy replied, ' _The infostamp was corrupt…if they upload it…_ '

"Yeah, that's 'cos your database got corrupted," the Doctor gave her a small nod, taking out the stamp, "Oh, look, look, look! Check this! The Doctor's infostamp…" he tossed it to them, "Plug it in. Go on, download."

"The core has been damaged," the Cyberman examined it, "This infostamp would damage CyberUnits."

The Doctor looked over at Evy, "Oh, well. Nice try."

She shrugged.

The Cyberman held the infostamp a moment till it beeped, "Core repaired. Download," the panel on its chest opened and it plugged the stamp in, images of the Doctor flashing across its eye, "You are the Doctor."

"Hello!" he grinned and waved.

"Don't antagonize them!" Evy scolded, slapping his hands down.

"You will be deleted," the Cyberman stated, readying its blaster.

He stuttered, holding up his hands, "Oh, but let me die happy! Tell me, what d'you need those children for?"

"What are children ever needed for?" the woman replied, "They're a workforce."

"A workforce for what?" Evy asked.

"Very soon now, the whole Empire will see. And they will bow down, in worship."

"And it's all been timed for Christmas Day," the Doctor nodded, "Was that your idea, Miss..."

"Hartigan. And, yes, it's the perfect day for a birth, with a new message for the people. Only this time, it won't be the words of a man."

"The birth of what?" Evy eyed her.

"A birth, and a death," the woman glanced over at the Doctor, "Namely, yours. Thank you, Doctor. I'm glad to have been part of your very last conversation. Now, delete them."

"Delete!" the Cybermen cried.

The Doctor moved to stand in front of Evy as the Cybermen advanced. But then a beam of energy struck them from behind and Jackson ran in, armed with the belt of infostamps.

"At your service, Doctor!" he called as the Cybermen fell, "Miss...Evy," he corrected, seeing her glare.

"Shades!" Miss Hartigan called, "Shades!"

"Run!" the Doctor shouted, grabbing Evy's hand, "Come on!"

"Shades!"

"One last thing," Rosita stopped, as they ran past the woman, and punched her right across the face, sending her to the ground.

"Oh I like her!" Evy grinned.

"Can I say, I completely disapprove!" the Doctor countered.

"Come on!" Jackson shouted, motioning for Rosita to run.

They all ran off, through the streets until Jackson and Rosita slowed, needing to stop for breath.

"The stronghold by the river," Evy said, "We need a way in."

"I'm ahead of you!" Jackson told them, "My wife and I were moving to London so I could take up a post at the university. And while my memory is still not intact, this was in the luggage," he pulled out legal documents, "The deed, 15 Latimer Street. And if I discovered the Cybermen there, in the cellar, then..."

"That might be a way in!" the Doctor shouted, "Brilliant!"

"But there's still more," he frowned, "I remember the cellar...and my wife. But I swear there was something else in that room…if we can find that, perhaps that's the key to defeating these invaders. So...onwards!" he ran off.

"Maybe you should go back…" the Doctor tried, turning to the women.

"Don't even try!" both Rosita and Evy began.

"No," he agreed, not going to argue with both women, knowing he'd lose to at least one of them.

They ran off, following Jackson to the cellar of the house he had just moved into, coming across a Cyberman in the cellar.

"Delete!" it shouted, turning to them.

Jackson stepped forward, beaming it with an infostamp as the Doctor, Evy, and Rosita joined him. Evy and the Doctor ran past him into the cellar where a device was set up in the middle of the floor.

"It must've been guarding this," Evy mumbled, kneeling beside it.

"A Dimension Vault!" the Doctor exclaimed, "Stolen from the Daleks again, that's how the Cybermen travelled through time."

Evy looked up at Jackson, "Was this the thing you couldn't remember?"

"I don't think so," he shook his head, trying to think, "I'm...I just can't see. It's like it's hidden."

"Yeah, not enough power," the Doctor mumbled, looking at the device, "Come on! Avanti!" he pulled Evy to her feet and they were off again, through a tunnel the Cyberman had been standing in front of.

"What do the Cybermen want?" Rosita asked as the Doctor led them cautiously onward.

"Us," Evy said, "The Cybermen are actually just human beings...but with their brains put into metal suits. They want every other living thing to be just like them."

"Ah ha!" the Doctor called. They looked ahead to see the entrance to the work room where the children were scattered about, working away.

"Upon my soul," Jackson gasped.

"What is it?" Rosita asked, looking at a monstrosity of metal and gears beyond them.

"It's an engine," the Doctor said, "They're generating electricity. But what for?"

Jackson started forward, "We can set them free!"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." the Doctor ran back the way they came, checking for, and finding, a power reading on the wall, needing to know how much time they had left, "Power at 90 percent!"

"If we even try to stop the engine and the power shuts down then the Cybermen will be alerted," Evy shook her head, "We can't let that happen. But..."

"Ooh," he frowned and tapped the readout as it flickered, "Hold on. Power fluctuation. That's not meant to happen."

"It's going wrong?" Jackson asked.

"No, but it _is_ odd though," Evy shook her head, tilting her head as she looked at the readings, "It's like the program is rewriting itself. It's...changing."

The Doctor jumped back as there was a surge, "What the hell's happening? It's out of control!"

"It's accelerating. 96 percent, 97..." Jackson read.

"When it reaches 100, what about the children?" Rosita gasped.

"They're disposable," the Doctor replied, "Come on!"

He took Evy's hand and they ran back to the work room, rushing straight in as an alarm sounded.

The Cybermen standing around began to prepare their blasters, "Delete. Delete."

The Doctor and Evy ran in as Jackson and Rosita used the infostamps on the metal men.

"All of you, out!" Evy shouted, ushering the children out of the room, towards the tunnels, "Every one of you, you need to run!"

They children began to scatter.

"All of you, come on!" Jackson shouted, "As fast as you can, come on!"

"There's a hot pie for everyone, if you leg it!" the Doctor added.

"Go!"

"Rosita, get them out of the sluice gate! And once you're out, keep running! Far as you can! Come on, come on, come on."

"Turn right at the corner!" Rosita shouted at the children as they entered the tunnel, following after them, "Fast as you can, and don't stop! Keep running, keep running!"

"Go!" the Doctor shouted, pushing the last of the children towards the tunnel, "Quick, quick," he ran over to a gauge just inside the door and called to Evy, "It's some sort of starter motor, but starting what?"

She looked around when she caught sight of Jackson, who looked as though he were in a great deal of pain. She ran over to him, "What's wrong?"

"I can't…" he began, gasping, "I can't…what is it? What's missing?"

Evy frowned before reaching out to take his head in her hands, "When you downloaded the information about the Doctor, it altered your brainwaves just the tiniest amount. But your brain is still healing, just not fast enough…I might be able to scatter the last of the waves…"

He looked at her, "Do it, please, I need to know."

She nodded, closing her eyes and concentrating. She could sense the faint patterns of the strained human's brainwaves within the man. The more she focused the fainter they became, the more they relaxed, straightened out, until they dissipated completely.

Jackson stumbled back with a gasp, looking up at the very top of a platform to see a little boy staring down, frozen with fear, "That's my son...my son!" he looked over at Evy and then the Doctor, "Doctor, my son!"

"What?" the Doctor ran over, looking up as well.

"They took my son," he grabbed the Doctor's arm, "No wonder my mind escaped! Those damned Cybermen, they took my _child_. But he's alive, Doctor! Frederic!"

"Come on!" the Doctor turned and shouted up at the boy.

"He's too scared," Evy breathed.

"Stay there!" Jackson shouted to him, "Don't move! I'm coming," he ran towards the stairs that would have led up the platform but was thrown backwards by an explosion, fire blocking the way. The Doctor ran to his side, helping him up as Evy looked around, "I can't get up there. Fred!"

"They've finished with the motor," the Doctor stated, "It's going to blow up."

"What are we going to do, Doctor?" he grabbed the Doctor's arm, "What are we going to do?"

"Leave that to me!" Evy called.

They looked over to see Evy grab a knife off the floor and wrap her arm around a rope.

"Evy no!" the Doctor shouted, rushing for her.

But it was too late.

She cut the rope, the weight it was attached to falling, pulling her up, straight to Frederic, "Hello," she breathed to the boy, pulling him into a tight hug, "Now you hold on tight. Don't you dare let go!" she stood up, the boy clinging to the front of her as she grabbed the rope again and swung off the platform to one a little ways away. She stumbled a bit with the landing but ran down the stairs and over to Jackson, passing him his son.

She was spun around to see the angry face of the Doctor, "What were you _thinking_?" he demanded.

"I was thinking that it looked like fun," she replied.

He pulled her towards him, kissing her hard, "Don't do that again!"

She just smirked, knowing that this was just a natural reaction from the Link, they didn't exactly do well when the other was in danger or hurt. But she couldn't help but feel a warmth spread through her from his concern, it was rather adorable to see him worried like that. Lord knew she would have died from all the years taken off her life being Linked to him, the danger magnet, if she hadn't been a Time Lady. And, she supposed, it was possible that she had done that because of all the danger he'd gotten himself into in the past, sort of a small taste of revenge. She would never willingly put herself into true danger just to 'get back at him' but little things that she knew she could do but that he'd worry about nonetheless were fair game. He did deserve it, just a little.

"We'll see," she replied, when suddenly there was another small explosion, "For now we have to go!" she took his hand and pulled him towards the tunnel, the three of them trying to navigate around the fires and explosions. But they made it, racing through it till they reached the cellar once more.

Jackson plowed through, running for the stairs as the Doctor called after him, "Head for the street."

He looked back to see Evy crouched by the device, fiddling with it till the lights changed and something popped up, "Gotcha!" Evy shouted as the Doctor pulled a scepter-like device from it.

"Come on, Doctor!" Jackson shouted as an explosion hit, "M...Evy! Hurry up!"

They stood and ran outside, following him into the streets, running till they reached the river and saw the monstrous machine that emerged from it.

"It's a CyberKing," the Doctor's eyes widened.

"And a CyberKing is what?" Jackson looked over at him.

"It's a ship! Dreadnought class! Front line of an invasion."

"There's a CyberFactory inside the chest area that can convert millions at a time!" Evy added.

The machine walked through the streets, firing beams from it, causing chaos. The people ran through the streets, screaming in terror.

"Take him south, go to the parkland," the Doctor looked over at Jackson and his son as he took Evy's hand.

"But where are you going?" he exclaimed.

"We need to stop it," Evy replied.

"I should be _with_ you!"

"Jackson, you've got your _son_ ," the Doctor said softly, "You've got a reason to live."

"And you haven't?"

The Doctor could only answer with a look down at Evy who looked back at him, squeezing his hand, she wasn't going to leave him. These people, and each other, they were reason enough, "That's why we've got to go."

Jackson looked between them, seeing their drive to protect and help the other, to protect the Earth, "God save you, Doctor, Evy."

They smiled at him before running off, heading straight for the stables. The Doctor rummaged through the trunks as Jed walked up to them.

"What the hell is that thing?" he asked, eyeing the scepter in Evy's hands.

"Oh, good man," the Doctor looked over at him, "Jed, wasn't it? Jed, I need your help!" he pulled out another set of infostamps.

"I'm not going out there!" he shook his head frantically.

"Not even for a five pound note?" Evy offered.

"Um..." he looked like he was struggling with the offer before sighing, "Alright. What d'you want me to do?"

"The TARDIS is gonna fly!" the Doctor exclaimed, running outside with Evy, Jed following reluctantly behind. They ran over to the hot-air balloon, the Doctor tossing the infostamps in, helping Evy into it, before jumping in himself.

"You're flamin' bonkers, sir! You too miss!"

"It's been said before!"

"No fun in being sane," Evy agreed distractedly as she looked down at the scepter, "Not enough power yet..."

"Jed! Let her loose!"

Jed ran around to the ropes tethering the balloon and began to untie them, "Ever flown one of these before?"

"Nope!" he shouted, pulling the ropes inside, "Never!"

"Can I have my money now?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh, get on with it!"

Jed untied the last rope and the balloon took off, floating up, "God's luck to you!" Jed shouted after them.

Evy untied the sandbags on her side of the balloon, letting them drop, sending them higher as the Doctor did the same on his side. Evy glanced around, trying to judge the direction before pulling the release chain as the Doctor prepared the infostamps, wrapping them around his arm. Evy looked over to see the CyberKing turning and pulled out her sonic, flashing the stamps around him so they would all connect to just the one in his hand.

"Excellent," they heard Miss Hartigan's voice call over to them, "The Doctor! Yet another man come to assert himself against me in the night."

"Miss Hartigan, we're offering you a choice," the Doctor shouted back, "You might have the most remarkable mind this world has ever seen. Strong enough to control the Cybermen themselves!"

"I don't need you to sanction me," she sneered.

"No," Evy agreed, stepping up, "But a mind like _that_...it deserves to live! The Cybermen came here using this, a Dimension Vault…" she held up the scepter, "We can use it again, but to find you a home instead, one with no one to convert but a world where you can live the rest of your mechanical lives in peace."

"I have the world below, and it is abundant with so many minds, ready to become extensions of me," she laughed, "Why would I leave this place?"

The Doctor swallowed, "Because if you don't, we'll have to stop you."

"What do you make of me, sir?" she glared at him, "An idiot?"

"No," Evy answered for him, "The question is, what do you make of us?"

The Doctor reached out, aiming the infostamps.

"Destroy them!" Miss Hartigan ordered.

"You make me into this!" the Doctor shouted, preparing to fire.

"Us," Evy whispered to him, placing her hand over his.

He looked down at her, staring into her eyes before turning to fire the energy beam at a device on Miss Hartigan's head. Moments later the beams receded and she appeared unharmed.

"Then I have made you a failure," Miss Hartigan laughed, "Your weapons are useless!"

"We weren't trying to kill you," Evy told her.

"All we did was break the CyberConnection," the Doctor continued, "Leaving your mind open. Open, I think, for the first time in far too many years, so you can see."

"Just look at yourself Miss Hartigan," Evy shook her head sadly, "Look at what you've _done_. Look at what you've let yourself _become_."

Miss Hartigan's eyes widened in horror as she realized _exactly_ what she had become, what would happen to her now, strapped into the chair but no longer in control. She screamed as the energy from her brain channeled through the machines until it destroyed the Cybermen and herself as well.

The CyberKing, without a controller, began to stagger, explosions going off throughout its body.

"It's gonna fall!" Evy shouted, leaning forward, she reached out a hand, a look of concentration on her face but the Doctor pulled her back.

"Don't!" he called, his eyes wide in terror as he realized what she was planning to do, "It's too much."

"I just need to keep it from collapsing till this," she held up the scepter to him, "Is ready," she reached forward and kissed him, "I can do it," she turned back, reaching out a hand and concentrating on the structure, using her powers to try and keep it from falling, using them only when absolutely necessary, to lock its limbs whenever it was about to stumble.

The Doctor glanced between the scepter and Evy, unable to do anything but wait. He could see a trail of blood start down her nose when the device in his hand beeped. He quickly stepped next to her and aimed it, firing at the CyberKing, catching it in the beams just as it began to fall.

As soon as it was gone, the Doctor dropped the device and turned to Evy who was leaning heavily on the side of the balloon. He pulled her away from it, gently kneeling to the floor with her and guiding her to sit, leaning against the back. He reached out and wiped the blood from her face with his sleeve.

"You alright?" he asked her, trying to check her out and assess any damage.

"Shh…" she whispered, placing her hand on his wrist, "Do you hear that?"

He fell quiet, listening as the sound of cheers and applause drifted up to them.

"That's for _you_ Doctor," she said, he looked over to see her smiling at him, "That's all for you."

She nudged him, forcing him to stand and see the people cheering him on from the ground. And then the sound of clapping sounded much closer. He glanced down to see her clapping for him as well, pride shining through her eyes, directed at him. He smiled and looked down at the crowd, waving down at them. He laughed, ringing the bell of the balloon as the cheers grew louder.

And then he noticed something.

He knelt down and gently helped Evy stand, "Look at that…"

She looked down to see the town from the sky, despite the few fires that had sprung up, it was gorgeous, "Beautiful…" she breathed.

"I agree," he said. She looked up, only to see him looking at _her_ instead. She could feel herself blushing as she leaned against his side, resting her head on his shoulder and just taking in the view.

~8~

The hot-air balloon hadn't lasted all that long in the air actually, barely a half hour before they were touching down just beside the river. They were hounded by scores of townspeople all cheering and thanking them, but Jackson wormed his way through and managed to pull them away. They were now walking through the market as a few others tried to right it, heading back towards the TARDIS, the real TARDIS.

"The City will recover, as London always does," Jackson was saying, "Though the events of today will be history, spoken of for centuries to come!"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, "Funny that."

"And a new history begins for me. I find myself a widower, but with my son and with a good friend," he looked back to see Rosita with Frederic, Jed standing nearby.

"You'd best take care of her Jackson," Evy told him, "She's wonderful."

"Frederic will need a nursemaid and I can think of none better," Jackson nodded, "But you're welcome to join us, the both of you. We thought we might all dine together, at the Traveller's Halt…" the Doctor and Evy both looked away, but Jackson was relentless, "A Christmas feast, in celebration, and in memory of those we have lost. You won't stay?"

"You know me," the Doctor shrugged.

"And where he goes, I go," Evy added, squeezing his hand.

"Oh!" Jackson caught sight of the TARDIS, "And this is it! Oh, if I might, Doctor? One last adventure?"

"Oh, be my guest," the Doctor grinned, unlocking the door.

"Oh..." Jackson beamed, stepping in, pausing on the ramp, "Oh, my word. Oh," he walked up to the console as the Doctor and Evy walked in and watched, "Oh, goodness me. But this is...but this is nonsense!"

"Well, that's one word for it!" the Doctor said, not entirely sure what to make of it.

"She's a wonder," Evy smiled, looking around appreciatively.

Jackson nodded, still lost in his thoughts, "Complete and utter, wonderful nonsense! How very, very silly! Oh, no…" he shook his head, looking to be in pain, "I can't bear it! Oh, it's causing my head to ache. No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." he turned and ran out of the TARDIS, overwhelmed, "Oh! Oh, gracious. That's quite enough," Evy stepped out and the Doctor closed the doors behind them, "I take it this is goodbye?" he looked up at them.

"Onwards and upwards," the Doctor nodded.

"Tell me one thing. All those facts and figures I saw of the Doctor's life, you were never alone. All those bright and shining companions! Evy…you're not one are you?" he glanced at her, there was something different about her.

"No," Evy said, "I'm like him," she nodded at the Doctor, "Time Lady."

Jackson's eyes widened considerably. All the information about the Doctor, he'd thought he was the last. But then he smiled, he wasn't alone any longer, "Then…no companions?"

The Doctor took Evy's hand and kissed the back of it, "No."

Evy smiled, "Not right now at least."

"Might I ask, why not?" he frowned.

The Doctor sighed, "They leave. Because they should, or they find someone else. And some of them forget me…and some could get very badly hurt…I suppose, in the end…they break my heart."

Evy linked her arm with the Doctor, hugging him slightly from the side, knowing it had been hard to have all his companions together again only to say goodbye to them all as well, "That Christmas dinner," she began, looking up at him, "Sounds marvelous, don't you think? We deserve a bit of a good time."

Jackson nodded firmly, "That offer, it's no longer a request, it's a demand."

"In memory of those we've lost," he glanced at Jackson, who nodded, and then to Evy, who gave him an expectant look, "I'll never hear the end of it from you if I say no, will I?"

"Nope," she popped the p, "You know how much I love period trips."

He laughed, "Oh...go on then!"

"Really?" Jackson smiled.

"Just this once," he said, but more to Evy, before turning to Jackson, "You've actually gone and changed my mind."

"Revel in the moment Jackson," Evy told him, "Not many people can say they've done that!"

The Doctor nodded, "Jackson, if anyone had to be the Doctor, I'm glad it was you."

Jackson laughed, "The feast awaits! Come with me! Walk this way."

The Doctor checked the TARDIS doors, making sure it was shut and locked before taking Evy's hand, "We certainly will!"

Evy laughed as they walked down the path, "Merry Christmas!" Evy shouted.

"Merry Christmas!" the Doctor replied with a smile.

"Merry Christmas, indeed!" Jackson beamed.

The Doctor laughed, tucking Evy's arm in his before he pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to her. Her eyes widened a bit as she saw the small, square, red gift with a small green bow, "What's this?" she asked, taking it and looking at him.

"Open it," he grinned.

She gave him a look before quickly tearing the bow and paper off it with no patience at all, only excitement. He laughed, she was rather eager when she received gifts he knew from her memories. He could only hope she liked it.

She gasped, her eyes widening as she saw the small token inside. It was a small, round, golden colored medallion of the Seal of Rassilon. She looked up at him questioningly.

"I can't picture you without a necklace," he shrugged, "And your last one was rather broken..."

She smiled, reaching up to her neck only to feel the absence of her hourglass necklace which had been completely destroyed by her recent near regeneration. She looked over at him, "Put it on me?" she asked, turning to lift her hair up.

He took the box and quickly clipped the necklace on her, beaming as he saw the joy in her eyes, "Do you like it?"

"I love it Theta," she whispered, leaning in to give him a quick kiss, "But I've nothing to give you..."

He reached out and brushed a hair from her face, "It's alright, I was the one who planned this trip," he reminded her. He'd been aiming, and hoping, to get Christmas somewhere, wanting an excuse to give her the new necklace. He hadn't given her any warning or preparation.

"I still feel..."

"Don't," he cut in, looking at her softly as they stopped following Jackson, "Luna..." he whispered, using her true name so she would know he was being very serious, "You've already given me the most magnificent gift I could have ever asked for..." she frowned, confused as to what gift that could be, "You've given me the Link," he told her, "You've given me this...this incredible connection I've only ever _dreamed_ of. You've done more for me than anyone I've ever known, and you did it out of love. Now..." he smiled, "Now I have the chance to return that love...I couldn't ask for a better gift."

She smiled, her eyes filled with tears as she leaned forward and kissed him deeply.

Jackson looked over, smiling warmly at the sight of the couple kissing, rather ironically, just under a strand of mistletoe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, the Doctor actually got angry at Evy for doing what we all know he would have done. Evy was right in the previous chapter, he is VERY new to the Link, to living with it and reacting to it. She's had centuries of getting used to the idea of the Doctor putting himself in dangerous positions and getting himself out of it, she's had time to convince herself he'll be alright (even if she'll still watch out for him) but the Doctor hasn't. It'll definitely be an idea that will be seen throughout the specials, him dealing with these new, more intense feelings in regards to Evy, whether positive (like love) or negative (like fear).
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor deals with his Link being on a dangerous planet. Evy's backup plans come in handy and she finally gets some well deserved recognition.


	3. Planet of the Dead (Part 1)

The Doctor and Evy were walking through London, trying to spot a hole in the fabric of reality that the TARDIS had detected. But it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack as the hole was probably only the size of a thumbnail. Not that it really bothered the duo. The Doctor was ecstatic to finally make it to an Easter on Earth, the two of them sharing the remains of a chocolate egg as they walked along.

However, not having found the hole, they decided to head back to the TARDIS and try to get a more exact location, so, being on the other side of the town, they headed for a bus that had just pulled up to take a nice ride back.

They stepped up through the doors of the bus, smiling at the bus driver, "Just in time," he smiled back at them, shutting the doors behind them.

The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper and flashed the Oyster Card reader twice for the both of them before heading into the bus. He turned, motioning for Evy to slide into a seat by the window in an empty row and sat down next to her.

Evy glanced around at the bus, always curious as to the people around her. There was a young black man, a middle aged black couple near the back, a middle aged blonde woman ahead of them, and a young woman with black hair across the aisle from them.

"Hello!" the Doctor called to the black haired woman, "I'm the Doctor, this is Evy!" he held out the remaining chocolate, offering it to her, "Happy Easter!"

Evy laughed, leaning across him to snag a bit of chocolate as the woman watched them, startled, not that she could blame the woman, the Doctor could be very shocking sometimes.

The bus started up and headed off a moment later and she sighed, leaning against the Doctor's arm to remain close to him but also so that, if she wanted, she could speak to the black haired woman who hesitantly took a bit of chocolate.

"Funny thing is," the Doctor continued, just making conversation, his other arm winding around Evy's shoulders, "I don't usually do Easter. I can never find it. Always at a different time. Although…I remember the original. Between you and me, what really happened was..."

Evy jolted in the seat, drawing the Doctor's attention, as she heard a beep, "Oh!" she laughed, "Sorry…" she turned to the Doctor, "Could I have the Rhondium Detector?"

"Oh!" his eyes widened, he turned about to fish in his pockets when he realized he was still holding the chocolate. He turned to the woman and handed it over to her, "Want to hold on to that for me?"

"Actually, you could keep it if you'd like," Evy smiled as the Doctor reached into his pocket, "Finish it off. Go on!"

The Doctor nodded absently, patting his pockets, trying to find the device she'd made, "It's full of sugar and I'm determined to keep these teeth," he grimaced at the woman, showing her a mouth full of white teeth, "Evy likes this one's smile," he turned and winked at the Time Lady, handing over a crude sort of electronic device as it beeped, "Ooh, we've got excitation!"

Evy laughed, "Look at these readings! I'm picking up something strange."

He reached out and tried to hold it to his ear but Evy swatted his hands down and took it back.

"I know the feeling…" the other woman muttered, eyeing the man in the suit and the woman in the pale pink dress with light blue leggins.

"Rhondium particles, that's what we're looking for," the Doctor told the other woman, "This thing detects them," Evy flicked a small toggle on the device and a sort of radar dish popped up, "Look, this should go round. The little dish there."

"Right now a way out would come in pretty handy. Can you detect me one of those?"

"Ah, the little dish is going round!"

"Fascinating."

"Doctor…" Evy began, frowning, "That's _not_ a good thing," and then, as though following her thoughts, the device sparked and began to smoke.

"Excuse me, d'you mind?" the middle aged blonde woman remarked from in front of them.

"Sorry, that was our little dish," the Doctor just waved her off as the dish began to make a high-pitched squeaking sound.

"Can't you turn that thing off?" the black haired woman demanded.

"Sorry, your name was..." Evy looked up at her.

"Christina."

Evy stood up, "Christina, I'd hold on if I were you!" she shouted, grabbing a railing as the Doctor stood as well, "Everyone, hold on!"

The bus jolted forward violently, throwing people out of their seats. The Doctor and Evy went flying into the aisle, thrown halfway to the front of the bus. The Doctor reached out and pulled Evy towards him, half covering her as the windows smashed and the lights flared.

"What's going on?" a young man shouted, falling down the stairs from the upper level.

A brilliant, white light flooded the bus, forcing everyone to cover their eyes…and then, it was over. The light faded to reveal a bright day outside when it had been evening moments ago. The Doctor slowly rose, helping Evy to her feet as they stared out the windows to see a desert plane ahead. They made their way to the front of the bus, the Doctor forcing the door open.

"End of the line," he stepped out and onto the sand, Evy and Christina following behind him, "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton."

"This is _so_ not good," Evy shook her head, looking around. The landscape was barren, there were three suns, and the bus was reduced to a smoking wreck with the roof nearly collapsed, the wheels buried in the sand.

The rest of the passengers got out of the bus, save the black couple, and looked around.

The Doctor walked off a little ways and knelt down in the sand, Evy joining him as he pulled on his specs. She reached out and picked up a handful of it, letting it flow through her fingers.

"That's impossible," they heard the middle aged woman say, "There are _three_ suns! Three of 'em!"

"Like with all those planets that were up in the sky," the black boy said.

"But it was the Earth that moved back then, wasn't it?" the other young man asked.

"Oh, man, we're on another world!"

"It's dented though," the bus driver looked at the bus, "Not as bad as it looks. The chassis's still holding together. My boss is gonna _murder_ me."

"Can you still drive it?" the older woman asked.

"Oh, no, no, no. The wheels are stuck firm. They're never gonna budge."

"Ready for every emergency," Christina remarked as she joined the Time Lords. They looked up to see her putting on sunglasses.

Evy reached forward and pulled off the Doctor's brainy specs. She flashed her sonic to darken the lenses and slipped them back on him, grinning, "Us to."

"And what's your name again?"

"I'm Evy. That's the Doctor."

"Name, not rank."

"The Doctor," he nodded.

"Surname?"

"The Doctor," Evy repeated.

"You're called 'the Doctor?'"

"Yes, I am," he smiled.

"That's not a name, that's a psychological condition."

"This sand isn't quite right..." Evy cut in, to break the traditional argument that always followed the introduction of him as just 'the Doctor,' "There's something else, just a trace of…oh don't do that!"

But it was too late.

The Doctor took a few grains of sand and tasted them. He immediately started to gag, trying to wag his tongue to remove the taste, "Bleagh, bleagh, bleagh, bleagh, bleagh. Blah. Not good."

' _I'm not kissing you till you find some mouthwash,_ ' Evy informed him silently.

"Well, it wouldn't be, it's sand," Christina reacted to the Doctor's actions, staring at him as though he'd gone mad.

"No, it tastes like..." he trailed and looked at Evy.

' _It tastes dead,_ ' she realized, seeing it in his mind.

He inhaled sharply and stood up, pulling Evy with him, "Never mind."

' _No use getting everyone anxious,_ ' he added to Evy.

"What is it?" Christina asked, picking up on it, "What's wrong?"

"Hold on a minute, I saw you!" the black youth stormed over to them, finger pointed at Evy. The Doctor made to stand in front of her but Evy lightly took his arm and kept him beside her, "You had that thing, that machine," he glared at her, pointing back at the bus, "Did _you_ make this happen?"

The Doctor laughed, seeing that Evy wasn't being threatened, "Finally! A human on a bus _not_ blaming _me_!"

Evy shook her head at him before turning back to the passengers, "We trying to track a hole in the fabric of reality."

"Call it a hobby," the Doctor shrugged.

"It was just a tiny little thing, I promise, completely harmless...but it seems to have gotten bigger. We drove through it and…"

"Well then, where is it?" the bus driver asked, "Hey, there's...there's nothing. There's...there's just sand."

"Right," the Doctor marched forward, towards where the bus came from, "You want proof? We drove through this…" he picked up a handful of sand and flung it in the air, revealing a ripple in the sky like water.

"And that's..." Christina's eyes widened as the rest of the passengers eyed the ripple in shock.

"A door," Evy sighed, "A door in space."

"And what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home," the bus driver said, "We can get to London through there?"

"The _bus_ came through," the Doctor shook his head, moving back to Evy's side, "But we can't."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" the bus driver exclaimed, running towards the portal, not listening to the Doctor's warning.

"No, no, no, don't!"

"I'm going home, mate!"

"I said don't!" the Doctor ran after him. Evy held out her hand, trying to create a wall with her powers, but the bus driver had already reached the portal.

There was a horrible scream as they watched the man destroyed by the energy of the portal, ripping him apart till only his skeleton remained, falling through to the other side, making Evy grimace at the sight.

"It was a skeleton, man," the black youth breathed, "It was bones, just bones!" he fell back onto the sand in shock.

The Doctor looked around uneasily.

' _I tried to stop him,_ ' he heard Evy whisper. He looked over to see her staring at the portal, ' _But I wasn't fast enough._ '

' _It's not your fault,_ ' the Doctor comforted, pulling her towards him, putting his arm around her.

She took a breath, nodding into his shoulder before looking up, "The bus. Look at the damage it sustained. The bus was what protected us from the portal."

"Great big box of metal," the Doctor agreed.

"Rather like a faraday cage," Christina commented.

"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah?" the other youth asked as he comforted the older woman, "Safest place is inside a car 'cos the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it at school."

"If we could only travel back inside the bus..." Christina eyed the bus critically, "A faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open."

"Well, slight inter dynamics of the wormhole," the Doctor said in thought, "There's enough metal to make it work. I think. I hope!"

"Then we have to drive five tons of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands, correct?"

"I think it's more nine and a half tons," Evy commented, "But all the same, yes."

Christina nodded briskly, "Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline. Which starts with appointing a leader."

The Doctor nodded as well, taking a step up, "Yes. At last. Thank you, so..."

"Well, thank goodness you've got me," Christina cut in, Evy just barely managed to contain her snort at the shocked look on the Doctor's face, "Everyone do exactly as I say. Inside the bus immediately."

"Is it safe in there?" the other youth asked.

"I don't think anything's safe anymore," Christina replied matter-of-factly, "But if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking's slower. Come on, all of you, right now," the middle aged woman scuttled off towards the bus, followed by the other youth as Christina turned to the Doctor and Evy, "And you. Evy and the Doctor."

Evy grinned, pulling the Doctor towards the bus, ' _I like her._ '

"Yes, ma'am," the Doctor nodded, now more amused than offended.

"Up!" Christina called to the black youth sitting on the ground, "Come on!" he grudgingly got up and followed them into the bus.

Christina immediately got to work, taking charge and setting out guidelines and goals they needed to achieve. Evy was leaning on the Doctor's shoulder, looking out the window as Christina spoke on, she was trying to listen, but also trying to get her bearings based on the landscape and suns.

"...point 5: The crucial thing is do not panic," Christina said, "Quite apart from everything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels. We don't need to add any more. Point 6: Team identification. Names. I'm Christina. This man is apparently the Doctor."

"Hello," the Doctor waved, grinning.

"I'm Evy," Evy added, nodding.

Christina nodded and turned to the young man beside her, "And you?"

"Nathan," he gave a little wave.

"I'm Barclay," the black youth spoke next.

"Angela," the middle aged woman replied, "Angela Whittaker."

"My name's Louis," the male of the black couple said, "Everyone calls me Lou. And…" he nodded at the woman next to him, "This is Carmen."

"Excellent," Christina said, trying to lighten the mood, "Memorize those names. There might be a test. Point 7: Assessment and application of knowledge," she looked over at the Doctor and Evy, "Over to you, Evy and the Doctor."

Evy blinked, "Why me?" she said at the same time the Doctor said, "I thought you were in charge!"

Christina grinned smugly, "I am. And a good leader utilizes her strength. You both seem to be the brainbox. So. Start boxing."

Evy smiled lightly, it wasn't often people asked her to help as well. Most people knew who the Doctor was, which was to be expected given his adventures, or assumed he was the only alien once they found out he was one. They hardly gave her pause until she proved she was just as clever as him…Christina seemed to have picked up on that fact though.

"Right…" the Doctor began slowly, swinging his legs over and standing up, pulling Evy with him, "So…" he looked at her, uncertain where to start.

"The wormhole," she began, "We were probably all just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He nodded, "It was just an accident."

"No," Carmen cut in, "It...it...it...wasn't. That thing…" she pointed back at the wormhole, "The doorway, someone made it. For a reason."

"How do you know?"

Carmen looked away, embarrassed, knowing no one would believe her. Sensing that, Lou took over, "She's got a gift. Ever since she was a little girl, she can just tell things. We do the lottery twice a week."

"You don't look like millionaires," Christina commented dismissively.

"No," Lou agreed, but not deterred, "But we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds," he shook his head, smiling at his wife with affection, "Don't tell me that's not a gift."

Christina looked a bit abashed at that.

Evy frowned, she could see Carmen still didn't look very comforted. She walked over and sat down right in front of Carmen, smiling at her, "Gifts make us special," she said, projecting her thoughts just enough for Carmen to pick up on. Carmen looked up at her, startled, seeing in her mind's eye that Evy had a gift as well, a power.

"Tell me, Carmen, how many fingers am I holding up?" the Doctor asked, smiling at Evy as he held up three fingers behind his back.

"Three," she said without hesitation, "Four," she corrected as he let a finger go.

"Very good," Evy replied, turning back to face the Doctor, she'd gotten just a bit of a reading off the woman's mind as well, "Psychic ability enhanced by an alien sun."

He nodded, "What did you see, Carmen? Tell us what's out there."

Carmen looked off into space before speaking, "Something. Something is coming. Riding on the wind. And shining."

"What is it?" Evy asked, laying a hand on the woman's shoulder, seeing she was growing more tense.

She looked up at Evy, scared, "Death. Death is coming."

"We're gonna die!" Angela gasped.

"Oh, I knew it, man," Barclay panicked, "I said so!"

"We can't die here," Nathan said, frightened, "No one's gonna know."

"This isn't exactly healthy," Christina commented.

"Shut up," Barclay snapped, "We're not gonna..."

And that was the start of mass panic, everyone taking over each other and crying.

"It's not doing any good!" Christina tried to tell them.

"Alright, now stop it," the Doctor called, "Everyone stop it!" he tried again, but nothing happened.

Evy rolled her eyes and stood, "Oi!" she shouted, "You lot! Stuff it!"

That quieted everyone down, mostly in shock, the girl had quite a set of lungs to her. They stared at her as she walked over to the sobbing Angela and knelt down before her.

"Hey, hey, hey," she began soothingly, "Angela, look at me," Angela looked up through the tears, "Just tell me one thing, where were you heading when you got on the bus?"

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" she swallowed.

Evy smiled softly, "Just tell me."

"Just home," she shrugged.

"And what's home?"

"Me, and Mike, and Suzanne, that's my daughter. She's eighteen."

"Suzanne," Evy nodded, "That's a beautiful name," Angela smiled a bit, seeming just a little more calm as Evy stood up. She looked over to see the Doctor smiling softly at her with pride before she turned to Barclay, "And you Barclay?"

"Dunno," he shrugged, "Going round Tina's."

"Tina?" the Doctor asked, following along with Evy's plan, "Your girlfriend?"

Barclay half smiled, "Not yet."

"Good boy!" he laughed, giving a cheeky grin and turned to Nathan, "What about you, Nathan?"

"Bit strapped for cash," Nathan sighed, "Lost my job last week. Was gonna stay in, watch TV."

"That's brilliant!" Evy smiled and turned to Lou and Carmen, "And you two?"

"I was gonna cook," Lou said.

"It's his turn tonight," Carmen added, smiling at the kind woman, "Then I clear up."

"What's for tea?" Evy asked, genuinely interested.

"Chops," Lou replied, "Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special."

"Oh, that's special," the Doctor cut in, "That is _so_ special. Chops and gravy. Mmmm…" he seemed a bit lost in thought and turned to Evy, "We should get some chops and gravy when we get back."

Evy rolled her eyes at him and turned to Christina, "What about you, Christina?"

Christina looked startled, "I was going..." she sighed, "So far away."

"Far away, chops and gravy, watching TV, Mike and Suzanne, and poor old Tina," the Doctor repeated.

"Hey!" Barclay grinned.

The Doctor just turned to him, "Let me tell you mate, don't wait," he glanced over at Evy, a soft, appreciative look in his eyes, "Don't _ever_ wait."

Evy turned away before she could start blushing and looked around at the passengers, "Just thing about _them_."

"'Cos the planet out there," the Doctor nodded out the window, walking over to stand with Evy before the passengers, "With three suns, a wormhole, and alien sand, that planet is nothing. You hear me? Nothing!"

"Absolutely nothing compared to all those wonderful things waiting for you back home," Evy finished, "Just hold on to that. Because we ARE going to get back," she looked at the Doctor, smiling before turning back, "We promise. We'll get you home."

Their little speech seemed to have gotten through as everyone sprang to their feet ready to get to work.

~8~

In the end, only Carmen and Lou remained inside the bus. Barclay and Nathan went to the second level to find some metal plates from the bus to make a sort of ramp while Angela volunteered to work the front of the bus. That left the Doctor, Evy, and Christina to head outside and examine what they had.

"Here you go!" Barclay shouted as he and Nathan carried some bus paneling down.

"That's my boys!" Evy laughed, she had been the one to tell them to grab the panels, "If we lay them flat between the bus and the wormhole we can use them like duckboards and reverse into it."

"Let some air out of the tires," Christina called over to them, "Just a little bit. Spread the weight of the bus. Gives you more grip against the sand."

"Oh, that's good," the Doctor looked at her, a bit impressed, as did Evy.

"Holidays in the Kalahari."

"Yeah, but those wheels go deep," Barclay said, walking over to them.

"Then start digging."

"With what?"

"With this…" she reached into her backpack and pulled out a shovel with a folded handle. The Doctor reached out and took it, unfolding it and handing it to Barclay.

"Have you got anything else in there?" Evy asked, eyeing the backpack amused, it had to be like the Doctor's pockets, bigger on the inside, to fit all that in there.

"Try that…" Christina pulled out a hatchet and handed it to Nathan, "Might help with the seats."

"Thanks," Nathan headed back to the bus.

The Doctor and Evy were standing there, very impressed, when Angela called over to them, "I can't find the keys!"

The Doctor turned and headed to the door, "Oh, buses don't have keys. There's a master switch. Then there's one button to start, the other one to stop, yeah?"

"Right, hold on," Angela looked down, "Oh, I got it!" she flipped the switch, turning the bus on, "Here we go, hold tight! Ding, ding!" she stamped her foot down on the accelerator and pushed a button. The bus rumbled for a moment before dying down with a grinding noise.

"That doesn't sound good at all," Evy mumbled, heading to the front of the bus and opening a panel to look at the engine which was smoking and covered in sand, "Of course," she shook her head, "The engine's clogged up."

Christina stepped back and went over to where the boys were laying down the panels, "Anyone know mechanics?"

"Me," Barclay stood, "Uh, I did a two week MVQ at a garage. Never finished it, but…"

"I could help," Evy muttered as she looked down at the engine, "Two heads are better than one…"

The Doctor gently pulled her up, "You're with me," he smiled down at her, "I need my second head," she laughed as they walked over to join Christina, "Off you go then!"

"Try stripping the air filter as much as you can," Evy added as the Doctor tugged her off.

"Back in two ticks!" he called over his shoulder.

"Wait a minute!" Christina called, running after them, "You're the ones with all the answers. I'm not letting either of you out of my sight."

They couldn't really argue with the self appointed leader so they just continued on. They'd gotten about a half a mile when they noticed Christina still had her backpack with her.

"Wouldn't it be easier without the backpack?" Evy commented.

"Where I go, it goes," she replied.

"Backpack with a spade and an axe," the Doctor said, "Christina who is going so far away and yet scared by the sound of a siren. Who are you?"

"You can talk! Let's just say we're equal mysteries. Come on then, tell me. If Carmen's right and that wormhole's not an accident then what is it? Has someone done this on purpose?"

"I don't know," he admitted, squeezing Evy's hand, "But every single instinct of mine is telling me to get off this planet right now."

And they were.

There was something in him telling him there was a danger on this planet, that they were all in danger…and that didn't work well with a Link, because that meant his Link was in danger as well. It made him edgy and nervous and he could feel the beginnings of a pit forming in his stomach and…Lord, was this how Evy felt every time he'd gone and gotten them into sticky situations?

' _Yes,_ ' came the simple reply in his mind.

' _I'm SO sorry,_ ' he told her.

She shrugged a bit, ' _I've gotten used to it._ '

' _How?_ ' he asked her, how did she deal with it? Even now he could feel his hearts starting to clench at the danger just out of sight.

She smiled lightly, sending reassurance to him, ' _You just trust that your Link can take care of themselves and take comfort in the fact that YOU are there to help them,_ ' she squeezed his hand as well, ' _Everything will be ok._ '

She wasn't about to tell him it had taken her centuries to get to that point. Though, it may have had to do with the fact that she _hadn't_ been to help him for most of it. She'd had to learn to either trust his companions or trust him to get him out of danger. But now she was there, and so was he, and together she truly believed they'd be able to get each other out of danger, protect each other. Everything would be fine.

"D'you think we can?" Christina's voice came back to them, snapping them out of their conversation.

"We live in hope," the Doctor replied.

"That must be nice," Christina commented, sullen, before turning to them, stopping, "It's Christina de Souza," she held out a hand for Evy to shake, "To be precise, Lady Christina de Souza," and then she shook the Doctor's.

"Ooh, that's handy," he nodded.

"I'm a Lady as well," Evy smiled.

"And I'm a Lord."

"Seriously?" she asked, "Of where?"

"Quite a big estate," he shrugged, trying to wave the question off.

Christina frowned and eyed them closely, "No, but there's something more about you," she looked at Evy, "That device you were carrying, and the wormhole, like you knew…" and then she looked at the Doctor, "And the way you stride around this place like..."

"...like?"

' _Like you own the place,_ ' Evy laughed, repeating his words to Martha on her very first trip in the TARDIS.

"Like you're not quite..." Christina finished.

The Doctor paused, eyeing the woman as well before turning away, "Anyway, come on! Allons-y!"

"Oui! Mais pas si nous allons vers un cauchemar," Christina grinned. (Yes, but not if we're going into a nightmare.)

"Tres bon!" Evy laughed. (Very good.)

They crested the ridge of a sandbank, only to see clouds in the distance, "Oh, don't like the look of that," the Doctor muttered.

"Storm clouds," Christina shrugged, "Must be hundreds of miles away."

"And getting closer," Evy added.

"If that's a sandstorm, we'll get ripped to shreds."

"It's a storm," the Doctor nodded, "Who says it's sand?"

"No," Evy shook her head, eyeing it, "It's moving far too fast to be a storm."

"Then what is it?" Christina asked.

"I don't know," Evy replied before they all turned and ran away from the clouds and back to the bus,

"Barclay, that phone...where is it?" the Doctor shouted as they ran back, recalling the boy had been texting or something before they ended up in the desert.

"In the bus!" he called, following them as they rushed past.

He ran into the bus, "Where is it?" he asked, looking around.

"There! There on the seat!"

The Doctor snatched it up and flashed the sonic over it, "You're hardly going to get a signal," Christina commented, watching, "We're on another planet!"

"Just watch me!" he shouted, putting the sonic away, "Right, now, bit of hush, thank you. Gotta remember the number. Very important number," he typed one in and held out the phone on speaker.

"Hello, Pizza Geronimo," a voice said on the other end.

"How'd I get into _that_?" the Doctor asked, staring at the phone.

"7-6 not 6-7," Evy replied.

"Right," he looked at her before turning back at the phone only to frown, "It's dead…"

"Now what?" Angela asked, concerned.

"Anyone have a phone?" he looked around at the passengers, "No?"

Evy rolled her eyes and stepped over to him, proceeding to check his pockets, "Nope, not in there…"

"Uh Evy…" the Doctor asked, standing still, "What are you…"

"Found it!" she pulled out some sort of device that looked a bit like a crude sort of mobile phone.

"What?" he stared at it as he took it from her.

"You never know if there will always be someone with a phone," she smirked.

"What?"

"It's programmed with all the numbers we might need. Torchwood, Donna, Martha, Sarah Jane, UNIT…which I suspect will be the first on the scene."

"What!"

She reached out and took his head in her hands, staring at him, "I made it just in case we got stuck somewhere with no communication. Wouldn't want to have a repeat of the Medusa Cascade would we? It's a bit restricted as to time, but it works between worlds at least."

She then plucked the makeshift phone from his hands and pressed '6,' "This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce," an automated voice stated over the phone as Evy handed it back to the Doctor.

"You are brilliant," he grinned at her as the voice continued.

"Please select one of the following four options: If you want..."

"Oh, I hate these things!" he looked down at the phone.

"If you keep your finger pressed on zero, you get through to a real person," Angela said, relieved that they were able to communicate back home, "I saw that on Watchdog."

"Thank you Angela!" he grinned, doing so, and sat down.

"UNIT helpline, which department would you like?" a real voice asked.

"Listen, this is the Doctor. It's me and Evy."

A moment later a woman's voice came over the line, "Doctor, Miss Daniels..."

"Just Evy please," she called.

"Yes ma'am. This is Captain Erisa Magambo," there was a swish of fabric, "Might I say, sir, ma'am, it's an honor..."

The Doctor blinked, "Did you just salute?"

There was silence before Magambo replied slowly, "No."

"Erisa, this is about the bus," Evy cut in, knowing the spiel he would get into about saluting, "Are you at the tunnel?"

"Yes ma'am. And where are you?"

"On the bus."

"But apart from that, not so clear," the Doctor added, "Except it's very pretty and pretty dangerous."

"A body came through here," Magambo said, "Have you sustained any more fatalities?"

"No," Evy said and looked at the passengers reassuringly, "And we're not going to."

"But we're stuck," the Doctor cut in again, "We haven't got the TARDIS and we need to analyze that wormhole."

"We have a scientific advisor on site, Dr. Malcolm Taylor," she told them, "Just the man you need, he's a genius."

"Oh, is he?" the Doctor asked skeptically, "We'll see about that."

There was silence for another moment before they heard a door shut, "It's the Doctor," they heard Magambo say, but not to them.

"No, I'm alright now, thanks," a man replied, "It was just a little bit of a sore throat. Although I've got to be honest, a cup of tea might be nice."

"It's _the_ Doctor."

"D'you mean, the 'Doctor' doctor?" the man repeated, stunned and hushed.

"The 'Doctor' doctor?" Evy raised an eyebrow at the Doctor in amusement as the Doctor just rubbed his eye awkwardly.

"I know," Magambo replied, "We all want to meet him one day. But we all know what that day will bring."

"I can hear everything you're saying," the Doctor commented dryly.

Someone gasped, "Oh, uh, hello Doctor? Oh, my goodness."

"Yes, I am," the Doctor said, not very enthusiastic, "Hello Malcolm."

"The Doctor! Corblimey! I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you! I mean, I've read all the files!"

"Oh, really?" he smiled, "What was your favorite? Giant robot?"

"Doctor," Evy cut in with a meaningful look.

"No, no, let's sort out that wormhole," he nodded, glancing up at the other passengers, "Excuse me," he headed over to the driver's seat with Evy, turning the volume on the speaker down just a bit so the others wouldn't hear and become alarmed again, "Malcolm, something's not making sense here. We've got a storm and a wormhole and…" he glanced at Evy, "We can't help thinking there's a connection. We need a complete full-range analysis of that wormhole, the whole thing."

"Well, I've probably got the wrong idea, but I've wired up an integrator," Malcolm began, "I thought it could measure the energy signature."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That'll never work."

"It's quite extraordinary, though. I'm measuring an oscillation of 15 malcolms per second."

' _15 what?_ ' Evy wondered.

"15 what?" the Doctor asked.

"15 malcolms," he replied, "It's my own little term. A wavelength parcel at 10 kilohertz operating in four dimensions equals one malcolm."

"You...named a unit of measurement after yourself?"

"Well, it didn't do Mr. Watt any harm. Furthermore, 100 malcolms equals a bernard."

"And who's that, your dad?" the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous. That's Quartermass."

"Right. Fine. But before I die of old age, which in my case would be _quite_ an achievement, so congratulations on that, is there anyone _else_ I can talk to?"

He winced as Evy smacked him behind the head with a remark of, "That's rude."

"No, no, no, no, but listen," Malcolm cut in, sounding horrified, "I set the scanner to register what it can't detect and inverted the image."

The Doctor's eyes widened in shock, "You did _what_?"

"...is that wrong?"

"No, Malcolm, that's brilliant!" Evy cut in, seeing the Doctor was still stunned, "That means you can actually measure the wormhole! That is _genius_!"

"I'm…I'm sorry. Who's this?"

"Evy."

There was silence.

"Evy Daniels?" Malcolm breathed.

"Um…yes?" Evy looked at the Doctor, confused.

"Oh my goodness," he gasped, "Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness me! I cannot believe I'm speaking to _the_ Evelyn Daniels!"

"Just Evy," she said, a bit stunned by his excitement, "You um…you know who I am?"

"Of course I know!" he shouted, "The Subwave Network, the time-lock on Torchwood, you are amazing miss!" and then he gasped, "Evelyn Daniels just called me a genius…"

"I know," Magambo replied briskly, "I heard."

Evy shook her head to see the Doctor smiling at her with pride, "Could you run a capacity scanner for us Malcolm? We'll need a full report."

"Yes," the Doctor cut in, "Call us back when you've done it. And Malcolm, you're my new best friend."

"And you're mine, too, sir!" Malcolm shouted before the Doctor ended the call.

He looked up to see Evy looked at him with her eyebrow raised, "What?"

"If he's your new best friend," she began, "What am I?"

He smiled softly at her, reaching out to stroke her cheek, "So much more."

She smiled, taking his hand as he stood and pulled her out of the bus, Christina following after them. They ran back over the dunes, to where they had been before, eyeing the storm which seemed to be much closer.

The Doctor held up the makeshift phone and recorded a video for Malcolm, "Send this back to Earth and see if Malcolm can analyze the storm…"

"There's something in those clouds," Christina squinted, "Something shining. Look."

"It's like metal," Evy agreed.

"Why would there be metal in a storm?" Christina frowned, before looking around, "Do you hear something?"

"Hold on," the Doctor shushed her, squinting at the storm, "Busy."

"There's a noise. Like a sort of..."

Evy looked back at her to see Christina staring at something to the side of them, she followed the woman's gaze to see a figure with a large fly's head.

"Doctor," she breathed, laying a hand on his arm.

He turned to see the figure, a Tritovore, standing there aiming something of a gun at them, making various clicking noises and squeaks. He quickly made similar noises.

"It's waiting," the Doctor told Christina, "I said 'wait,' people usually wait."

"You speak the language?" Christina looked at him, surprised.

"Every language," Evy replied as she too made clicking noises and squeaks, "Begging for mercy," she said as Christina looked on, lost.

But then the Tritovore waved his gun, "It means move," the woman guessed.

"You're learning!" the Doctor grinned.

They walked a bit uneasily ahead of the Tritovore, the Doctor holding Evy's hand tightly in his own, not at all comfortable with the fact that his Link was being held at gunpoint as well.

"These fly things…" Christina began, "They must be responsible. They brought us here."

"I don't think so," Evy said as they came upon a vessel, "Look at the ship."

"It's a wreck," the Doctor whistled, looking at the ship lying in the sand, basically torn in two parts, "They crashed just like us."

The Tritovore clicked and ushered them inside.

"Ugh!" Christina exclaimed, "But this place is freezing!"

"Must be therpotreen steel," Evy looked around, "It filters and reverses temperature, so a desert outside would make for a freezing ship inside."

The Doctor glanced over at Christina who didn't seem to be shivering as much as an average human would have been, "There's something about you, Christina, you've been through all the extremes."

"That's how I like things," she smirked, eyeing the Doctor, "Extreme."

' _Alright,_ ' Evy's voice flittered through his mind, ' _I take it back…I don't like her._ '

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Evy, getting a bit jealous just then...well, at least now she feels she has a right to be :) I love how she just whacks him when he's being rude or an idiot. And now the Doctor's got a vague idea of what he's put Evy through with the Link.
> 
> I have to say, I LOVE Malcolm, he was my favorite character out of all the specials. He's just so adorable.
> 
> Next chapter...Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm...(shakes head)...poor Malcolm. We saw how stunned he was just meeting the Doctor...how will he handle meeting TWO Time Lords? :)


	4. Planet of the Dead (Part 2)

The Doctor just laughed quietly at Evy's words and the small bit of jealousy he could feel through the Link as they entered another chamber of the crashed ship, "Oh, this is beautiful! Intact, it must have been magnificent! A proper, streamlined, deep-spacer."

"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured," Christina grimaced, "At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well-designed spaceship."

Another Tritovore joined the first, both with their guns aimed at them. One pushed a button on his suit, turning a purple light on. The Doctor and Evy relaxed just a tiny bit at that.

"Alright, good, yes," the Doctor nodded, "Hello."

"That's their telepathic translator," Evy told Christina, "It allows them to understand us."

The one Tritovore clicked.

"Still sounds like gibberish to me," Christina commented.

"That's what Evy said," the Doctor clarified, " _He_ can understand _us_. Doesn't work the other way round!"

The Tritovores began to click, leaving Evy and the Doctor to have to translate.

"'You will suffer for your crimes,'" Evy began, "'You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race. You came here in the 200 to destroy us…'"

"Sorry, whats the 200?" the Doctor frowned.

"It's the bus," Christina answered, "Number 200. They mean the bus."

"Oh!" he turned back to the Tritovores, "No, no, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor, by the way, this is Evy and this is Christina. The Honorable Lady Christina. At least I hope she's honorable."

"We were pulled through that wormhole," Evy said, getting the topic back on point, "That's not the way the bus usually looks. It was damaged, as yours was."

"It was all just an accident," the Doctor added, "Promise!" he crossed his hearts quickly.

The Tritovores discussed that for several moments before they lowered their guns.

"What are they doing?" Christina asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"They believe us," Evy replied calmly.

"What, simple as that?"

"I've got a very honest face," the Doctor shrugged.

"And the translator said we're telling the truth," Evy rolled her eyes at him.

"Plus the face!" he argued, but Evy just raised an eyebrow, "Right, so, first thing's first…" he bound over to the controls as Evy looked some over, "There's a very strange storm heading our way. Can you send out a probe?" he turned to the Tritovore who said something, "Ooh, they've lost power."

"The crash knocked the mainline crystal out of sync," Evy reported, looking over the controls and readings, "But…" she reached over and worked on turning a knob, "We might be able to get it back if we just..."

Then the Doctor kicked the machinery, much like he often did to the TARDIS, and the controls flared to life.

The Tritovores began to speak quickly, obviously happy, "Why, thank you!" the Doctor grinned proudly, "Yes I am! Frequently!"

"Alright, alright," Evy shook her head at him, smiling but not wanting his ego to get any bigger, "We need to launch the probe!" she flipped a switch and something shot off the ship and flew away. She punched in a few instructions and a holographic screen appeared displaying a cloud of color and light for them to see, "The Scorpion Nebula. What do you know, we're on the other side of the Universe."

"Just what you wanted," the Doctor said to Christina, "So far away."

Evy typed a few more commands in, opening the ship's log and sitting down beside the Doctor.

"Planet of San Helios," his eyes widened, seeing a beautiful, high-tech planet appear on screen.

"And that's us!" Christina pointed, "We're on another world!"

"We've been here for a while now," Evy replied.

"I know, but seeing it like that..." she shook her head in wonder.

"I know," the Doctor grinned, "It's good, isn't it?"

"Wonderful!"

The Tritovores began to speak again, drawing both Evy and the Doctor's attention from the screen.

"The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios," Evy said, "Population of 100 billion."

"Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb," the Doctor added.

"By waste matter, you mean..." Christina began distastefully.

"They feed off what others leave behind…from their behind, if you see what I mean. Perfectly natural, they _are_ flies!"

"Charming. Just remind me never to kiss them."

They looked back at the screen, watching the city from the sky as the Tritovores clicked away.

"San Helios city," Evy said slowly.

"That's amazing," Christina smiled, amazed, "But…you've both seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?"

"Thousands of times," the Doctor admitted.

"That nobility of yours. Lord and Lady of where exactly?"

"Time," Evy said.

"We come from a race of people called Time Lords," the Doctor added.

"You're aliens?" her eyes widened.

"Yeah. But you don't have to kiss me either."

"You _really_ don't," Evy added.

"You look human," she shook her head.

"You look Time Lord," the Doctor countered.

"We came first," Evy smiled, turning back to the screen.

"So, if _that's_ San Helios, all we need to do is find that city," Christina reasoned, "They can help us."

Evy glanced at the Tritovore that began speaking quickly, "It's not that simple."

They watched as the city on the screen changed to sand dunes, "We're in the city right now," the Doctor said.

"But it's sand!" Christina exclaimed, "That first image, the temples and things, what's that then? Ancient history?"

"That image was taken last year," Evy breathed as the Tritovores clicked.

"It became a desert…in one year?"

The Doctor leaned down and picked up a handful of sand from the floor of the room, "Evy said there was something in the sand," he let it fall through his fingers, "The city, the oceans, the mountains, the wildlife, and a hundred billion people turned to sand."

"Poor Carmen," Evy shook her head slowly, "All this time she was hearing them die in her mind."

"But I've got sand in _my hair_ ," Christina said, disbelieving, "That's dead people! Ugh, that's _disgusting_! Ugh!"

The Doctor turned to Evy, concerned, not paying attention to Christina as she tried to shake the sand out of her hair, "Something destroyed the whole of San Helios."

"Yes, but in my hair!"

The makeshift phone rang and the Doctor quickly answered it, "Malcolm, tell me the bad news."

"Oh, you are clever," Malcolm replied, breathless, "It _is_ bad news! It's the wormhole, Doctor, it's getting bigger! We've gone way past 100 bernards. I haven't invented a name for that!"

"How can it get bigger by itself?"

"Well, that's why I'm phoning. You'll work it out if I know you, sir. And…if you can't…I'm sure that Miss Daniels can."

"Malcolm, it's just Evy," Evy cut in, laughing at the Doctor's sputtering at the slight against his intelligence.

"We estimate the circumference of your invisible wormhole is now four miles heading upward," Magambo spoke up, "I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through."

"Ah, good work, both of you," the Doctor nodded, coming out of his shock.

"But I have to know, does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?"

"Ooh, sorry, call waiting, gotta go…" he cut them off as the phone beeped, "Hello?" he asked after pushing a button, curious as to who would have the number.

"Doctor?" Nathan's voice came in.

"Wait," the Doctor shook his head, "How did you get this number? How are you even calling?"

"We managed to find a cigarette lighter. Barclay had a car charger, we got enough of a battery to call you."

"Yeah but the number…how…"

"Me," Evy said, "I programmed this phone to pick up on your sonic…any phone you sonic registers here and it sends a message to put this number in the other's memory," the Doctor looked at her, shocked, that was genius! Evy took the phone, "What's going on Nathan?"

"We've got those dumbolt things down, but..." Nathan trailed.

"It's my fault," they heard Angela cry.

"No, it's not. Don't say that!"

"Why?" the Doctor called in, taking the phone back, "What's happened?"

"We kept on turning the engine, but...we're out of petrol. Used all up. Even if we can get those wheels out, this bus, is never gonna move," the Doctor let the phone fall away from his ear, stunned, "You and Evy promised you'd get us home…Doctor, are you still there?"

Evy reached out and took the phone from him once more, "Don't worry Nathan, we'll figure it out," she ended the call and turned to the Doctor, "Doctor…I might be able to get the bus to move."

"How?" Christina asked, looking up at her.

"Carmen isn't the only one with a gift," she replied cryptically.

"What are you…" Christina began, but he Doctor stood up and took Evy by the shoulders.

"No," he said seriously, looking straight in her eyes, "It's too great a strain."

"But…" she began.

"Like you said," he smiled a bit, still tense at just the thought of what could happen if she tried to lift a nine ton bus with her mind, "We'll find another way. You and me and these…" he tapped his head, making her smile as well.

An alarm sounded and they looked around to see a Tritovore leap for the controls.

"It's the probe," Evy said, "It's reached the storm."

The Tritovore clicked on.

"And what's he saying?" Christina frowned.

"It's not a storm," the Doctor said seriously.

The screen morphed to show the probe flying through the supposed storm which they could now see was actually millions of metal-like stingrays flying in a huge sweeping cloud.

"It's a swarm!" Christina gasped, "Millions of them."

"Billions," Evy corrected as one flew straight at the probe and the image disappeared, "And there goes the probe."

"It got eaten," the Doctor sounded torn between laughing and sighing, "Everything on this planet gets eaten!"

"How far away is that swarm?" Christina asked, pointing at the screen.

"At a guess...about a hundred miles," Evy replied, "But, travelling at that speed, it won't be more than 20 minutes before it reaches us."

The Doctor turned to the Tritovore who was rapidly clicking at them, "No, no, no, they're not just coming for _us_. They want the wormhole."

"They're heading for Earth?" Christina gasped.

"Can you bring up the analysis," Evy turned to the Tritovore by the controls who brought up a 3D replica of the stingray.

"Incredible," the Doctor breathed as he and Evy stepped up to examine it, "They swarm out of the wormhole, strip the planet bare, and then move on to the next world. Start the lifecycle all over again."

"So, _they_ make the wormholes?" Christina asked uneasily.

"What else is left here that could?" Evy shook her head.

"But how? They don't exactly look like technicians. And if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they 100 miles away?"

"'Cos they need to be?" the Doctor asked, uncertain, "No, that's bonkers. Hang on. Yes! Oh!" he spun on his heel to look at Evy, knowing she'd be able to keep up, understand, "You see? Billions of them flying in formation all the way round the planet. Round and round and round. Faster and faster and faster until they generate a rupture in space!"

"Their speed and number and size," Evy's eyes widened as she followed along, "All combined rip the wormhole into existence!"

"And the wormhole's getting bigger…" Christina began.

"Because they're getting _closer_."

"But how'd they get through? 'Cos that wormhole's a killer, we've seen it."

"No, no, no. Look," the Doctor pointed to the screen, "See the exoskeleton."

"Metal?"

"They've got bones of metal."

"They eat metal and it grows into their exoskeleton," Evy added, "It keeps them safe to enter the wormhole once their velocity creates it," she let out a little whistle, "Talk about natural selection."

"Those things are going to turn the entire Earth into a desert?" she cried, horrified, "So why exactly are you smiling?"

Evy looked over to see the Doctor was indeed grinning widely, she shook her head at him, "The worse it gets, the more he loves it."

"Oh you know you love it too," he smiled at her, holding out his hand.

Evy took it with a laugh and they were heading back into the main body of the ship with Christina following as they tried to find something to help them stop the swarm.

"Thing is you're missing the obvious," Christina called after them, "We came here through the wormhole, yes? But our Tritovore friends didn't. They came here to trade with San Helios. Therefore the question is, why did they crash?"

The Doctor paused, "Oh. Good question…" he turned to the Tritovores, "Like she said, why did you crash?"

The Tritovores turned and walked through a door, to a room with a huge hole in the ground, the trio following. The Doctor and Christina leaned over to peer down it while Evy knelt at the edge to get a better look.

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor nodded, "Gravity room. Goes all the way down to the engine. So what happened?"

The Tritovores clicked.

"'The drive system stalled,'" Evy translated, "They crashed from ten miles up."

"But what caused _that_?" the Doctor frowned.

The Tritover shrugged.

"Which means 'no idea,'" Christina ventured.

"That's a crystal nucleus down there," Evy cut in, glancing up at the Doctor, "It looks like it survived the crash, from what I can see the crystal's intact."

"Ooh, yes!" his eyes widened, "That's better than diesel!"

"What, you can use a crystal to move the bus?" Christina frowned.

"I think so!" he looked around, "Place is a write-off, but the 200's small enough."

"How does a crystal drive a bus?"

"In a super clever, outspacey way. Trust me."

"Which means he'll figure it out when we actually get the crystal," Evy sighed, before pointing over the edge, "Look, there's the crystal, it's all the way at the bottom of the well."

"Have you got access shafts?" the Doctor turned to the Tritovore, listening as it clicked, "All frozen…"

"I might be able to hack the system, open them…"

The Doctor nodded, helping her up before picking up a small earpiece, "Internal comms.," he tossed one to Christina and put the other in his ear, "Put that on! You stay here. Keep an eye on the shaft. Tell me if anything happens!"

The Tritovores led them out of the room and over to the control room once again. Evy immediately got to work on the controls, "I might be able to get the automatic maintenance to start using the sunlight..." she began.

"Christina, if you see a panel opening in that shaft, let me know," the Doctor called into the comm. as Evy worked away.

"Nothing yet," Christina replied.

Evy plugged in a wire, looking up at the Doctor.

"Anything now?" he asked.

"'Fraid not."

Evy frowned and grabbed a few wires, crossing them.

"Any sign of movement?"

"Nope!"

Evy flashed her sonic across a plug.

"How's that?"

"Nothing."

The panel sparked as Evy tweaked another wire. There were dozens of combinations she could still try so this was slow goings.

"Any result?" he asked again.

"Not a dickey-bird," Christina replied, "So let me get this right. You need that crystal? Then consider it done!"

The Doctor watched as Evy blew into a box to clear the connection, "Why, what d'you mean?" but there was no response, "Christina?" Evy looked back at him as realization dawned in his eyes, "Christina!" he shouted, grabbing Evy's hand and pulling her up and out of the room with him, running back to the gravity room.

"The aristocracy survived for a reason," Christina smirked at them as they entered the room, "We're ready for anything."

She let herself fall forward as they ran to the edge, just missing her.

"No!" the Doctor shouted, pulling out his sonic and flashing it across the winch Christina had set up, stopping her abruptly during her fall, "That's better!"

"I decide when I stop, thank you!" Christina called back smugly.

"If you decide, then you should have all the facts first," Evy called back, looking over the edge, "That's the security grid just below you."

"Excellent," Christina muttered, taken aback that she'd been so careless, seeing the grid flare only inches in front of her face, "So what do I do?"

"Try the big, red button," the Doctor suggested.

Christina looked up to see it right ahead of her. She pushed it and the grid fell away, "Well done!"

"Now come back up," Evy called, "I can do that."

"Evy…" the Doctor began warningly.

"You're too tall."

"Oh, don't you wish!" Christina shouted back up to them.

They exchanged looks, both realizing Christina was _not_ going to come back up willingly but also that she seemed to know what she was doing, "Slowly!" the Doctor shouted down.

"Yes, sir!" she called back mockingly. She twisted so she was going down head first.

"Like a mystery, don't you?" he said through the comm., "Lady Christina de Souza. Carrying a winch in her bag."

"No stranger than you, spaceman."

"We had this friend once," he said sadly, swallowing hard, "She called me spaceman."

Evy reached over and took his hand, ' _We still do,_ ' she told him silently.

He looked up at her with a small, thankful smile, ' _Thanks to you._ '

"And was she right?" Christina asked, not having noticed his tone, "Do you zoom about the place in a rocket?"

"It's little blue box," Evy smiled, "And it travels in more than just space."

"It can journey through time, Christina," the Doctor squeezed Evy's hand, "Oh, the places we've been."

"World War I, creation of the Universe, end of the Universe…" she swallowed hard, recalling what they had found during that adventure, before shaking her head, "War between China and Japan," she glanced down at Christina's bag, lying open to see a lovely golden chalice, "And the court of King Athelstan in 924 AD."

"Don't remember you being there," the Doctor added, taking the cup out of her bag, "So what are you doing with this?"

"Excuse me," Christina replied, not seeming disturbed that they found her out, "A gentleman never goes through a lady's possessions."

"When did _you_ become a _gentleman_?" Evy joked to the Doctor.

A Tritovore clicked, "It's the cup of Athelstan," the Doctor answered him, "It was given to the first King of Britain as a coronation gift by Hywel, King of the Welsh."

"And it's been kept in the International Gallery for 200 years."

"Which makes you, Lady Christina," the Doctor leaned a bit over the edge to look down at her, "A thief!"

"I like to think I liberated it!" she replied.

"Don't tell me you need the money."

"Daddy lost everything. Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," he shook his head, looking at the cup, "You're short of cash, you rob a bank. Stealing this…that's a lifestyle."

"I take it you disapprove."

"Absolutely!" he began, before growing a bit rueful, "Except…that little blue box…I stole it. From my own people."

Evy squeezed his hand again.

"Good boy!" Christina applauded when a metallic roar echoed over to her, "What the blazes was that?"

"We never did find out why the ship crashed," Evy remarked before leaning over the edge, "Christina, you need to get back up here!"

"Too late. I can see it."

"Careful, slowly," the Doctor called to her, turning to the Tritovore, "Have you got an open vent system?" it clicked, "Thought so."

"What does that mean?" Christina asked, having heard them.

"It's just like when birds fly into the engine of an aircraft," Evy explained.

"One of the creatures," Christina gasped.

They looked at each other, realizing she must have seen one, "If they got trapped in the vents," Evy said, "It would cause the crash."

"Christina, get out!" the Doctor shouted.

"It's not moving, I think it's injured," she replied.

"No, it's just dormant from the cold but your body heat is raising the temperature," Evy argued.

"I tend to have that effect. Almost there!"

"Not just the crystal, we need the whole bed, the plate thing," the Doctor said urgently.

"I've got it!"

The Doctor jumped to his feet, sonicing the winch, "Come on, come on!"

The winch began to move, pulling Christina up the vent while something large crashed against the sides, creating sparks as it flew after her.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on," he muttered, trying to get it to go faster, "It's going to eat its way up!"

Evy pulled out her sonic, aiming it down the hole, waiting till Christina had made it past the security grid before flashing it. The grid activated, frying the stingray in the lasers.

The Doctor laughed, looking over at Evy, "Brilliant!"

Evy ran over to help straighten Christina when she reached the top as the Tritovores clicked excitedly at Christina, "Yes she is," she laughed.

The Doctor took hold of the crystal and the plates, taking Evy's hand and pulling her back towards the entryway led by the Tritovore who took them back to the second one in the control room.

"Commander, we should leave this place now," the Doctor told the two Tritovores, "We should get back to the 200, all of us," they clicked, "Oh, don't be so daft! The Captain _can_ leave his ship…if there's a bus standing by!"

There was an enormous roar, making all of them jump.

"What the hell was that?" Christina demanded, "Is this place safe?" there was another roar, "It's the creature, it's not dead!"

The Tritovoers were clicking frantically.

"Maybe you _didn't_ hit just one of them," Evy told them, "If you hit a swarm..."

"D'you mean there's more on board!" Christina gasped.

"This ship's built inside a metal sleeve," the Doctor told the aliens, "They can move through the infrastructure all around us!" sand began to fall around them, "And those things wake up hungry. Come on!" he held out a hand to the Tritovores, trying to usher them out, "Are you going to come with us right now?"

"Come back to Earth, we'll find you a home!"

"Come on!" Evy added.

The Tritovores began to move forward, when the ship shook and one of the Tritovores ran back. He started fiddling with the controls when one of the stingrays broke through the ceiling. Christina screamed as the stingray turned and dragged off the first Tritovore. The second stepped forward, aiming its gun at the stingray.

"No, don't!" Evy shouted.

But it was no use, the stingray attacked the second Tritovore as well.

"There's nothing we can do," the Doctor yelled, grabbing Evy's hand and pulling her out, "Run!"

They turned and fled the ship, the Doctor with the plate, Christina with her backpack. They raced across the sand, just ahead of the swarm behind them. As they ran down a dune the makeshift phone rang. The Doctor passed the plate over to Evy and whipped out the phone, "Er, Doctor, I..." Malcolm began.

"Not now Malcolm!" he screamed, ending the call just as they reached the bus.

Nathan and Barclay ran out to see what was wrong.

"At last!" Nathan called, "Where have you been?"

"Get inside!" Evy shouted, "Get them sitting down."

"Now then, let's have a look," the Doctor picked the crystal out of the plate in Evy's arm.

"So what does the crystal do?'" Christina asked.

"Oh, nothing, don't need the crystal," the Doctor tossed it away.

"Oh, I've risked my life for that!"

"No, you risked you life for the clams," Evy said as she took two clamps, the Doctor taking the other two.

The Doctor took one side of the bus while Evy took the other, both attaching them to the wheels.

"So what are the clamps for?" Christina asked, following the Doctor, "Do they turn the wheels?"

"Meh, something like that," he met Evy at the doors, ushering the women in before getting in himself. Evy set up the last clamp, the plate, on the wheel, stepping back for the Doctor to sit down, "Have you got a hammer in that bag?" he asked Christina.

"Funnily enough..." she went to the bag and searched for it.

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out the makeshift phone again, handing it to Evy. She clicked redial, "Malcolm, it's us."

"I'm ready," Malcolm said.

"For what?"

"I don't know, you tell me!"

The Doctor motioned for her to hold the phone up and so she held it to his ear as he finished setting up the plate, "We're going to try to get back, but listen, there might be something following us. You need to find a way to close the wormhole."

"Would that be a compressed burst of feedback on a counter oscillation perchance?" Malcolm asked smugly.

"Oh, Malcolm, you're brilliant!"

Malcolm gasped, "Coming from you, sir, that means the world," he sounded near tears.

"Doctor, what sort of 'something?'" Magambo spoke warily, "That wormhole is now measuring ten miles and growing. I need to know the exact nature of the threat."

"Sorry, gotta go," he eyed Evy and she ended the call.

Evy sighed, knowing what Erisa would do if they told her the stingrays actually were a threat, "Why do humans always believe guns will solve everything?"

He could only shake his head. He reached forward, trying to get the bus to start but it only hissed and sparked.

"It's not compatible," Evy told him, resting a hand on his shoulder, seeing him getting frustrated.

"Bus, spaceship, spaceship, bus," he mumbled, "We need to weld the two systems together."

"And how d'you do that?" Christina asked from the other side of Evy.

"We need something non-corrosive, something malleable, something ductile…"

"In other words," Evy looked up at Christina, "Something gold."

Christina shook her head, smiling in disbelief, "Oh, no you don't."

"Christina, what is it worth now?" the Doctor asked.

"Hey, hey, hey," Barclay stepped up, holding out a watch, "Use this."

"It has to be _gold_ ," Evy repeated.

"It _is_ gold."

"Oh, they saw you coming," the Doctor mumbled to Barclay before turning to Christina, "Christina!"

Barclay slumped away as Christina looked at them with a pained expression on her face. She turned to her bag, glancing at it, before looking at the people sitting around the bus, now depending on her for their survival, and back to her pack. She sighed and pulled out the cup, holding it up to the Doctor.

"It's over 1,000 years old, worth 18 million pounds," she said before handing it over, "Promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise," he told her.

' _Liar,_ ' Evy whispered in his head.

He turned it upside down on the plate on the wheel and began to hit it with the mallet, beating it into shape as Christina watched in shock.

"I hate you," she muttered at him.

The Doctor just ignored her as he looked over his shoulder at the other passengers, "This is your driver speaking. Hold on tight."

"What for?" Barclay asked, "What's he doing?"

"Do as he says!" Evy turned to them.

"What _are_ you doing?" Christina asked the Doctor.

But he was more focused on getting the engine to rev, "Come on, that's it! You can do it, my beauty. One last trip!"

The bus wobbled, smoke rising from the wheels. Everyone cried out in fear, save Christina and Evy, who were grinning as the bus rose into the air.

"Oh, you are so kidding me!" Barclay exclaimed.

"We're flying!" Nathan shouted, "It's flying!"

"It's flying!" Lou looked shocked, "The bus!"

"It's a miracle!" Angela gasped.

"Anti-gravity cloud, didn't I say?" the Doctor grinned, "Round we go!" he spun the wheel, making the bus face the wormhole, everyone nearly thrown out of their seats at the movement.

"They're coming!" Carmen shouted, looking out the window.

The Doctor opened the driver's window to peer out, seeing the cloud of stingrays on their tail.

"D'you think we'll survive the journey back?" Christina asked desperately.

"Only one way to find out!" Evy grinned, "Next stop..."

"Planet Earth!"

The rest of the passengers screamed as the bus flew through the portal, cloaking them all in darkness. The Doctor just laughed, looking ridiculously proud of himself, as he flew the bus out of the portal and right over London. Evy looked out to see UNIT soldiers staring up at them as they continued to fly.

"It's London!" Barclay shouted, looking out the window at London at night.

"Oh, we're back home!" Angela nearly wept.

"They did it!" Nathan shouted, thrilled, "They did it!"

"Doctor," Evy said, her eyes on the portal where three stingrays flew threw.

The UNIT soldiers began firing at the aliens, the passengers ducking as some stray bullets bounced off the vehicle.

The Doctor pulled out the phone, "Malcolm! Close that wormhole!"

"Yes, sir!" Malcolm shouted, "My pleasure, sir!" and then he disconnected the call.

The Doctor looked down at the phone in disbelief, "He's hung up on me!"

Evy smiled, amused at that.

He pressed redial again, "Malcolm!"

"Not now, I'm busy!" Malcolm shouted and once again hung up.

The Doctor stared at the phone, "He's hung up again!"

Evy reached out and grabbed the phone, calling back, "Malcolm, you need to listen..."

"It's not working!" the poor man cried in disbelief.

"We need that signal," the Doctor shouted as Evy held up the phone, "We've got billions of those things about to fly through."

"Well, what do I do?"

"Use the back feed integrator and keep the signal ramping up!" Evy pulled the phone back.

"But by how much?"

"500 bernards!" the Doctor shouted, "Do it now!"

A moment later a relieved cry resonated through the phone, "Yes!"

They looked over to see the wormhole twitch and die, trapping the stingrays on San Helios, while two of the three stingrays that escaped were shot down by UNIT.

Nathan looked out the window, seeing the final stingray heading for them, "It's coming for us!"

The Doctor peered over, seeing it coming, "Oh, no you don't!"

"Hang on!" Evy shouted just before the Doctor turned the bus hard to the side, whacking the stingray with the back of the bus, sending it flying down towards the UNIT cannons which made quick work of it.

Moments later, the firing ceased.

"Did I say I hated you?" Christina gasped, looking at the Doctor as he turned to look at her, "I was lying…" she breathed, reaching forward, but Evy put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back a bit.

"That's _my_ job," she told her, grinning, before turning to the Doctor, who looked confused, and kissing him deeply while the other passengers laughed and cheered and applauded, Christina looking put off.

When Evy pulled back she couldn't help but smirk at the dazed look in the Doctor's eyes as he stared at her, breathing heavily. He was still stunned moments later when Evy reached over and gently guided the bus down to the streets.

He seemed to snap out of it when the bus jolted after touching down. He shook his head hard before turning to grin at the passengers, "Ladies and gentlemen you have reached your final destination. Welcome home the mighty 200!"

He opened the doors to applause by the UNIT soldiers and policemen that were standing around watching them. The passengers quickly ran off the bus as a UNIT soldier stepped forward.

"Welcome back everyone," the soldier greeted, "Step away from the bus just to be safe. As fast as you can, thank you. Standard procedure, we need to screen you and then you'll all be taken for debriefing."

The Doctor held up the psychic paper, linking his arm with Evy and flashing it at the soldier, "We don't count."

"No, but Doctor..." Christina began but the soldier grabbed her arm.

"With me ma'am," he led her off.

Captain Magambo walked over to them as they headed through the thick of the blockade, but another man ran up to them first.

"Doctor!" he shouted.

"You must be Malcolm," the Doctor grinned, only to suddenly be pulled into a hug by Malcolm.

"Oh!" he cried, "Oh! Oh, I love you!" Evy snorted, hiding her laughter behind her hand while Magambo managed to stifle a grin. The Doctor just had a foolish smile on his face, "I love you!" he repeated, pulling away, "I…I love you!"

"I think I have some competition," Evy remarked, smiling in amusement.

Malcolm looked over at her, his eyes widening to the size of saucers, "E-ev-D-dn…" he stuttered.

Evy glanced at the Doctor and then Magambo who were both staring at Malcolm oddly. She looked back to see he'd almost managed to get to the third letter of her name.

"E-ev-Da-Dan…" he began.

"E-vy…" she said along with him, helping him out, "Dan-iels…yes…hello."

"Oh my…" he breathed, before suddenly stiffening, his eyes wide as he fell backwards into a dead faint.

Evy blinked and looked down at him, very surprised. She looked over at Magambo who was shaking her head, "Um…is he alright?"

Magambo just sighed, "He will be, yes," she then straightened up, "Miss Daniels, Doctor," she saluted, "I salute you whether you like it or not," the Doctor cringed away as though he'd been slapped as Evy just laughed and linked her arm with him once more, "Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"

"They'll start again, generate a new doorway," the Doctor began, "It's not their fault, it's their natural lifecycle."

"But we'll try to launch the wormholes onto uninhabited planets," Evy added, "Closer to home."

They looked back at the passengers who were standing around, being checked by various soldiers, "Those two lads," the Doctor nodded over at Nathan and Barclay, "Very good in a crisis."

"Nathan needs a job," Evy nodded, "Barclay's quite good with engines."

"You could do a lot worse. Privates Nathan and Barclay. UNIT's finest."

Magambo seemed to consider it, "I'll see what I can do…" she nodded before turning to them, "And I've got something for you."

She turned and motioned for the soldiers to move, they pulled a tarp off of something on the back of a lorry, the TARDIS!

"Ho ho ho," the Doctor laughed, "Better than a bus any day! Hello!"

"Found in the gardens of Buckingham Palace."

"Oh, she doesn't mind," Evy commented. The Doctor had introduced her to the Queen after she'd recovered from the _Titanic_ incident, they had hit it off, especially when Evy maybe let it slip the previous adventures the Doctor had had with some of the Queen's predecessors…

"Now, I've got three dead alien stingrays to clear up," Magambo continued, "I don't suppose you fancy helping with the paperwork."

"Not a chance," he grinned.

"Until we meet again," she offered them her hand which they shook.

"I hope so," Evy nodded as they walked over to the TARDIS.

They had just gotten to the door when Christina ran up to them, "The little blue box, just like you said," she grinned, "Right then, off we go!" she smiled flirtatiously at the Doctor, "Come on, Doctor, show me stars."

The Doctor could feel Evy stiffen next to him and frowned, "No."

"What?" Christina demanded.

"I said no."

"But I saved your lives! And you saved mine."

"So?"

She looked around, "We're surrounded by police, I'll go to prison!"

"Yeah."

Evy squeezed his arm slightly, she could tell this was hard for him. It was always hard turning down someone's chance for adventure and freedom even if neither of them were too fond of Christina's blatant flirting.

"But you were right, it's not about the money," she pleaded, "I only steal things for the adventure, and today, with you…with the both of you, I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this!" she looked up at him, her feelings of expectation and delight fading as he just looked at her, "Why not?"

"People have travelled with us," Evy said, knowing it hurt him too much to talk about, "And we've lost them," she couldn't say they would never take on another companion, it was inevitable, they would get too lonely without others around. They both just loved showing others different worlds and sharing the experience with them too much to never do it again, but for now…the Doctor wasn't ready. He'd just had to say goodbye to his four closest companions in one go, it was too much too soon.

"Lady Christina de Souza," a detective walked up to them, "Ah, I have waited a long time to say this! I am arresting you on suspicion of theft," they looked down at the ground as she was arrested, unable to look at her staring at them, "You don't have to say anything, et cetera, et cetera. Dennison, take her away!"

They pulled her off as Carmen and Lou walked past, escorted by several UNIT officers. Carmen stopped suddenly and looked over at them, "Doctor," she began cautiously as they looked up, "You take care now, the both of you."

"You, too," he replied cheerfully, "Chops and gravy, lovely!"

"No," she shook her head, "But you be careful. Because your song is ending."

Evy tensed as the Doctor's smile literally dissolved. She squeezed his arm tightly, "What do you mean?" she asked.

Carmen looked off in the distance for a moment, "It is returning. It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor, oh, but then...he will knock four times."

The Doctor could only stare at her in confusion and fear while Evy watched him, concerned. Carmen eyed them for just a moment longer before walking away, leaving him to stare after her.

Evy tugged on his arm till he looked down at her. She stood up and gave him a soft, reassuring kiss. He smiled, pulling away to brush a lock of hair from her face, stroking her cheek a moment before turning to unlock the TARDIS.

"Wait," she murmured, looking around to where Christina was being led to a police car. She pulled her sonic out and aimed it at the woman. Christina looked at her, confused, until she flashed the sonic on and the handcuffs unlocked. She smirked as she was forced into the car, making her way to the other side, and running out towards the bus as Evy slipped the sonic back into her pocket.

"I thought you didn't like her," the Doctor commented as they watched her run past.

Evy shrugged, "I don't, but she _did_ help save everyone, save us…"

"No, don't!" the detective that had first arrested her chased after her, "Stop that woman! Stop that woman! Stop her!" Christina hopped into the bus as they strolled over to it, UNIT soldiers moving to block the road, "Don't just stand there, stop her!" she closed the doors just before he could jump onboard and so he pounded on the door, "Open the door! I'll add resisting arrest!"

"I'd step back if I were you," the Doctor warned as they stopped a few feet away.

"I'm charging you two, too," he spun, pointing at them, "Aiding and abetting."

"Yes," the Doctor nodded, pointing over at the TARDIS, "We'll just step inside this police box and arrest ourselves."

"I'll arrest you," Evy told him, "You arrest me."

"I love it," he laughed as they stepped back, walking towards the TARDIS, but watching the goings on as they went.

"Out now!" the detective shouted. Christina waved at him and started up the bus, lifting it off the ground, "No! Come back!"

The rest of the passengers laughed in delight and cheered as she escaped, waving as she floated above.

The Doctor and Evy paused at the door of the TARDIS, turning around to give her a mock salute as she flew off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Malcolm, it must be so overwhelming to meet TWO Time Lords lol. And the Doctor, getting so dazed from a kiss. And now dear Carmen has brought up a question, who exactly was she talking to? Who will be regenerating? The Doctor? The Doctor and Evy? Or will Evy save him? Will she take his place? Hmmm...
> 
> The next chapter will be from the Sarah Jane Adventures, a crossover episode with DT, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith. As I did in my Academic Series, I'll try to explain what is going on from the Doctor and Evy's POV but I'd also recommend trying to see if it's online somewhere, maybe youtube, and watch the episode to have a better idea of what is going on behind the scenes and before hand :)
> 
> Next chapter...we'll see exactly how the TARDIS broke through the Trickster's power. How will Evy react to her first real adventure with children?


	5. The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith

The TARDIS shook violently as it fought to break through a barrier that had formed around the small manor where the Sarah Jane Smith was one step away from getting married by means of a Trickster's trap. The TARDIS had gotten a distress call from Sarah Jane's computer, Mr. Smith, only moments before it was shut down completely. The Time Lords knew something had to be _very_ wrong if _Sarah Jane_ was the one to shut it down and do so _happily_. As they ran around the console, trying to figure out what could have happened that made Sarah Jane do such a thing, for clearly something had to have happened to her, Evy brought up the monitor to see a wedding announcement!

The Doctor had been ecstatic to see that his former companion was getting married, though still a bit concerned as to why she'd shut down Mr. Smith. So they'd gone to, well, crash the wedding when they'd run straight into an energy field that the TARDIS immediately recognized as the Trickster's doing. And that was when they realized that whatever was going on, the Trickster had a hand in it, and that was _not_ a good thing.

Evy ran over to the side of the console, kneeling down and opening a panel, she reached in and grabbed a small wire. She hesitated, resting her head against the console, "I'm so sorry…" she whispered to the TARDIS, before pulling the wire free and connecting it to another.

The TARDIS gave a violent jolt.

"What did you do?" the Doctor called.

"I released some of the Artron Energy!" she called back as the TARDIS shook, the console starting to spark with the energy, "Just enough to surround it, should break through!"

And it did, barely.

The Doctor pulled Evy to her feet, "You are brilliant!" he kissed her and pulled her to the doors, throwing them open to see they were in a small parlor or reception area of the quaint manor. They looked around, vaguely hearing someone speaking from another room.

They ran around the corner, approaching two large doors as a woman's voice reached them, the words clear, "…why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace…"

"That's your cue!" Evy said as the Doctor burst through the doors, into a small chapel room.

"Stop this wedding now!" he shouted.

Everyone turned back in their seats to face the intrusion only to see a skinny man, heaving, wearing a blue suit and a long brown coat with a woman with black hair standing a few feet away in a dark purple dress, bright pink leggings, and black motor boots with a red velvety frock coat on.

"What?" Sarah Jane exclaimed, staring back at them, wide eyed.

"What's going on?" a girl beside a boy they recognized to be Sarah Jane's sone Luke called.

"Who the hell is that?" the man beside Sarah Jane asked, Peter his name was according to the wedding announcement.

"I don't believe it," Luke gasped as the girl turned to him.

"Who're they?" she asked.

"Master!" K9 exclaimed, rolling out from under a table where he'd been hidden.

"I said stop this wedding!" the Doctor repeated.

"Doctor!" Evy shouted as wind began to pick up, forcing him to stumble back. Evy ran to his side as the lights started to flicker.

"Alert!" K9 warned, rolling in a circle, "Alert, danger mistress!"

"Sarah!" Evy shouted, waving her arm at Sarah Jane, seeing Peter take hold of her arm, "Get away from him!"

Sarah Jane's eyes widened as she tried to pull free, but Peter wouldn't let her go.

"No," she looked up at Peter, "Please let me go."

"Don't be afraid Sarah Jane," he smiled at her, "It's the angel."

There was a small storm of electrical light in the corner of the room as a creature appeared, humanoid, with no eyes and sharp teeth, dressed in a large, billowing white robe with a hood.

"It's the Trickster!" the girl shouted, staring at the figure in horror.

"Mum!" Luke turned to his mother, trying to get up but unable to with the wind, "Mum!"

Sarah Jane looked over at him desperately when the Doctor called out, "Sarah!" he turned to the Trickster, leaning on Evy as she helped keep him steady in the wind, "Trickster let her go!"

"Too late Time Lord!" the Trickster sneered, floating over to Sarah Jane and Peter, "You're mine Sarah Jane Smith, mine forever."

"Sarah!" Evy and the Doctor shouted, both trying to reach for her but held back by the wind.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane called, reaching back as well, only to disappear with the Trickster and Peter.

"Sarah!" the Doctor yelled once more, when the wind finally disappeared and he stumbled forward. He ran to the front of the room, over to the altar, "Sarah!" Evy ran over to him, looking around frantically as the room started to shake, "No!"

Waves of energy appeared over the guests, surrounding them before they too disappeared.

"Dad!" the girl shouted, "Mum!"

The Doctor looked around as though he could still find Sarah Jane when Evy grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the altar, pulling him down to grab onto its leg, "Hold on!" she shouted at Luke and two of his friends who had remained, the only ones still left, "Everyone just hold on!"

The room shook terribly as a blinding white light filled it, forcing everyone to look away.

~8~

"Luke?" the Doctor called softly as he knelt over Luke's prone form on the ground. Whatever the light had been, it had knocked Luke and his friends, Rani and Clyde, unconscious, "Luke Smith?"

Evy looked up from checking on Rani and Clyde with her sonic. She'd been very concerned as soon as the light had dimmed to see the humans lying on the floor, unmoving. She wouldn't have put it past the Trickster to hurt them in some way and had immediately gotten to checking on them, wanting to reassure herself that they were alright. She'd always had a soft spot for children...especially after Linking to the Doctor, learning about the loss of his baby, feeling his pain. Children were always a weakness to the two of them, she couldn't bear to see them hurt.

She was relieved to see Luke waking up slowly, "D-Doctor?" he asked.

"That's me," the Doctor grinned, "Good to meet you in the flesh."

"What happened?" Luke frowned before sitting up quickly, "Mum! The Trickster!"

"Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke listen to me," the Doctor calmed him down, "Everything's going to be alright, we can find Sarah, we can bring her back, we promise."

"We?"

"Yes, we," Evy replied, drawing Luke's attention, giving him a small wave, "Hello."

"But we need you to be strong for us," the Doctor continued as Rani and Clyde started to awaken, "Just like you were before. We know you can do it," he winked and Luke nodded slowly.

"Who are you?" Clyde asked, backing away from Evy.

"Hello!" the Doctor was on his feet and running over to Clyde, his hand held out to greet him, "Clyde!" he pulled the boy up to his feet as Evy moved to help Rani stand.

"Which makes you Rani," Evy grinned, despite Rani pulling away as well.

"What?" Clyde shook his head as the Doctor ran back to the altar and knelt down, searching the floor, "How did you know my name?"

"Wait a minute they were…" Rani began, before pointing at the Doctor, "It's you isn't it?"

The Doctor stood and ran down the aisle, "It's me."

"The Doctor!" Rani's mouth dropped open.

"That's him," Luke nodded.

"And who's she?" Rani asked as Evy walked past them to go over to the Doctor, who was now pressing his ear to the ground before the fireplace in the back of the room.

"That's Evy," Luke smiled, "She's his Link."

Rani gasped, her eyes wide, as she stared at Evy who was looking around the room as well, "Is she really?"

Sarah Jane had told them all about the Doctor, and then, after the Earth had been moved, about the woman who travelled with him, his Link, Evy Daniels. Sarah Jane had told them about what a Link was.

"She told you about me?" Evy looked over at them, surprised but touched.

"She's told us _all_ about the two of you," Rani nodded.

"I hope you're as good as Sarah Jane says you are," Clyde added.

"Well…you know journalists, always exaggerating," the Doctor muttered, pushing himself off the ground to look around, "But yeah…" he turned to face them, "I'm pretty amazing on a good day…" and then he smiled over at Evy who was rolling her eyes at him, "But Evy here…she's just brilliant everyday."

She smiled and looked away as K9 rolled out from under the table where he'd taken cover, "Master, inquiry, who is Evy?"

The Doctor looked happy to see his old robotic dog, "K9!" he exclaimed, kneeling down to pat him, "Did you miss me? Did you miss me?"

"Repeat. Who is Evy? Scanners indicate non-human."

The Doctor motioned for Evy to come join him, pulling her down next to him by the dog, "K9, I'd like to introduce you to Evelyn Daniels…a Time Lady…my Link."

K9 was silent for a moment, completely unmoving. If he'd been a human, Evy would have thought he'd been stunned. But then his tail wagged excitedly and his ears spun, "Very pleased and honored to meet you mistress Evelyn!"

"Mistress Evelyn?" Evy turned to the Doctor.

"Oh, uh, original programming, he's meant to recognize my Link as his mistress as well," he turned to K9, "K9, just mistress Evy yeah?"

"Affirmative," K9 replied, "Another inquiry…where is mistress Sarah Jane?"

"Where are we?" Clyde called.

They looked up to see him staring out the windows, Luke and Rani moving over to take a look. The Doctor stood, helping Evy up with him as they walked down the red carpet that was the aisle towards the children.

"Inter-dimensional shift," the Doctor explained, "Time's moved on. But us, at least for time being, we've been left behind."

"There's nothing out there!" Rani exclaimed.

Just outside the window there was literally nothing but white light and what seemed to be clouds.

The Doctor turned and walked back down the aisle, looking around the room intently as the children continued to look outside.

"I said all along, I _knew_ there was something wrong about all of this," Clyde muttered before noticing the Doctor and Evy weren't behind them any longer. They turned to see the duo standing by another window in the back of the room, examining it, "And what, exactly, is going on?"

"We'll explain later," the Doctor remarked.

That did little to quell their fears as all three of them stepped up and began speaking at the same time, asking questions and such. The Doctor and Evy glanced at each other and then the children, hearing only vague mentions of the Trickster, mums and dads, being trapped, and Sarah Jane.

The Doctor sighed and pulled out a rather large noise maker from his pocket, swinging it around as they walked over to them.

"Shh!" he hissed as they fell quiet, "Here's the answer to all your questions. Yes, it was the Trickster. Yes, we're trapped. Yes we're the only ones who can get us out of the trap. Yes, we're gonna bring Sarah Jane, and your mum and dad, and all the others back safe."

"But we won't be able to do any of that without you," Evy added, pointing at them.

Clyde smirked, a bit smug, as he crossed his arms, " _You_ need _us_?"

"Just like Sarah Jane needs you," she smiled at them as the Doctor whirled the noise maker once more and put it away. Normally she wouldn't want to expose children to the dangers of time travel, especially to a dangerous enemy like the Trickster, but, as Rani had exclaimed before, they all had prior experience with him, they knew the dangers, they'd dealt with alien threats before. If there were any children on Earth who could handle this, it was the three before her. Sarah Jane had picked her friends well.

"But my mum and dad," Rani shook her head, "Where are they?"

"Just go on with them Rani," Luke leaned forward and spoke quietly, "I saw them save the world."

"You helped us save the world Lukey boy!" the Doctor slapped Luke's cheeks as Evy just shook her head at him, "Right!" he took Evy's hand and turned to leave, "Come on, we can use the TARDIS!" they started to run after him, when he stopped suddenly and faced them, "I assume everyone knows what the TARDIS is?" they nodded, "Unless you've really not been paying attention...and..." he turned and they ran off again, "Allons-y!"

They ran through the back doors of the room, the same ones the Doctor and Evy had burst through before, and down the hall, back to the empty parlor, to see no TARDIS in sight. The Doctor stopped in shock, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, it was there!" he shouted, "It was right there!"

"Doctor, listen," Evy said, hearing the TARDIS as it materialized. She stepped back, pulling them all back with her as the TARDIS vaguely appeared before them, crackling with a bit of Artron Energy.

"That noise!" Rani gasped, "I've heard it before."

"We were trying to break through for a while," Evy nodded, "The Trickster's created some sort of energy barrier around the manor."

"Temporal schism is preventing TARDIS materialization," K9 stated, rolling up to them.

"Wait a minute… _that's_ the TARDIS?" Clyde asked incredulously, sounding very let down by the sight of it, "That's just a wooden box!"

"Come on!" the Doctor ignored him, focusing on the TARDIS struggling to land, "You can do it, more power, come on!" it disappeared, "Ok, well, no TARDIS," he put his hands in his pockets sullenly, turning to face the children once more.

"It won't be able to materialize until time starts moving again," Evy told them, laying a hand on the Doctor's arm in comfort.

"What, so we're trapped here?" Rani asked, "Wherever this is?"

"No, 'cos what have we got?" the Doctor grinned at them, "We've got K9!"

"Affirmative," K9 confirmed.

"And we've got Evy…oh, she's brilliant!" he added, smiling at her, "Always doing the impossible her," before turning back to the kids, "And we've got you three and any friend of Sarah Jane Smith is a friend of ours."

"But where is this?" Clyde asked again, "What's happened to the rest of the world?"

"Our present location," K9 cut in, "No-where, no-when."

"No-when?" Luke frowned.

"Look at the clocks," the Doctor nodded at the one behind them.

The children turned to see a clock on the wall, ticking back one second and then forward, over and over.

"Time has stopped," Luke breathed.

"What?" Clyde looked down at his watch, "You're joking."

"No…" Luke said again, walking over to a TV of a horserace, replaying the horse jumping the wall, over and over, "This second's on a loop," he looked up at a digital clock recording even down to the second, "23 seconds and 23 minutes past 3 o'clock."

The Doctor nodded, "And we're caught inside it. In this one second."

"But, again, where is Sarah Jane?" Clyde demanded.

"I think she's right here," Evy said, looking around.

The Doctor and the children looked around the room as though Sarah Jane might just walk through the doors at any moment. The Doctor wandered over to a sofa and knelt down to listen to the floor.

"So we've been kept behind in this second…" Rani began, trying to make sense out of it all.

"Affirmative mistress Rani," K9 confirmed.

"But the rest of the world, mum and dad and everyone else, they've moved on from here going forwards in time. Why has the Trickster trapped us here?"

The Doctor popped up from the floor and whipped off his brainy specs, "Oh, come on Rani, you know the answer to that," he looked over at the stairs and headed towards them.

"We're Sarah Jane's friends, all of us," Rani began, realization dawning on her, "Her _best_ friends…"

The Doctor tossed his coat over as though to drop it on K9 but Luke caught it as he ran up the stairs, Evy watching after him from the bottom.

"Which means…" Evy glanced at Rani, encouraging her to work it out. Humans were so brilliant, especially the children, they saw things adults missed, thought of things more simply. With pushes in the right direction, they could do anything.

"Hostages!" Rani spun around, "He can use _us_ to get to _her_!"

Clyde shook his head, "But we've met the Trickster before but we've never actually found out who he is."

"The Trickster is a creature from beyond the Universe," the Doctor called, slowly walking down the stairs towards them, "Forever trying to break into our reality, manifest himself. He's one of the Pantheon of Discords."

"That's a good name for a band," Clyde said, in thought.

"Actually, not bad!" the Doctor looked at Clyde, as though considering it.

"He's an eternal exile," Evy cut in, getting the conversation back to point, "He exists only to wreak havoc."

"But we can fight him," the Doctor turned to them, "The six of us, and we can win. Oh!" he pulled out his sonic as it beeped faintly, "Ha! That's it!"

"There's a time trace here," Evy smiled, pulling out her sonic as well, the Doctor sending her the trace so she could help him look.

"Just a hint of Sarah Jane. Oh, she's close."

The children watched as the two aliens walked around the room, following their sonics as they beeped. Evy walked around near the back of the room, checking the doors while the Doctor, for some reason, decided he could track the trace better standing atop the sofa.

He shook the sonic, placing it to his ear as it beeped.

Rani shivered suddenly, "What was that?" she looked up at them, "Felt like someone just walked over my grave."

The Doctor looked down at her from atop the chair as Evy walked over to the girl, but the closer Evy got, the faster her sonic beeped. The Doctor aimed his sonic in that direction as well and it beeped very fast. He jumped off the chair and stood before them.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, walking forward slowly with Evy, "Oh! She's here! She's here!" they held up their sonics, both beeping so rapidly that they almost sounded like they were humming, "Sarah!"

"Sarah Jane," Rani corrected quietly, leaning over, "She doesn't like being called Sarah."

The Doctor eyed her for a moment before shrugging, "She does by me."

"Doctor!" Evy called.

He looked back over to see a ghostly form of Sarah in her gown run past the door before them and out of the room.

"K9!" the Doctor shouted, running to the door.

"Scanning master!" K9 began.

"Doctor!" a ghostly echo reached them, sounding a great deal like…

"Mum!" Luke shouted, running to the door where Evy and the Doctor were flashing their sonics.

"That was her!" Clyde added.

Evy flashed her sonic at K9, "K9, I've sent the time trace to you."

"Affirmative mistress," K9 replied.

There was another ghostly echo of a door shutting.

"K9!" the Doctor shouted, the beeping of the sonics slowing.

Sarah Jane was gone.

"Temporal schism divided in two master," K9 answered.

"Of course!" Evy patted the dog's head, "We're here, trapped in 3.23.23, and Sarah's trapped in another second."

"Hold on," Clyde cut in, looking at the Doctor, "You said you'd explain later, well, it's later…" he crossed his arms, as did Rani, "Please explain."

The Doctor looked at Evy, who nodded, before sighing, "The Trickster doesn't want us helping Sarah so he's separated us. Trapped us in two different seconds."

"Doctor!" another ghostly echo rang out from above them.

They all looked up.

"Oh, she's upstairs," the Doctor breathed before springing into action, "Come on!" he took Evy's hand, about to run off, when he turned to Luke, "Luke, K9, watch for the TARDIS, you see it coming back shout the place down."

"Orders accepted master," K9 agreed.

"Rani, Clyde, you're with us!" Evy added, the four of them rushing off.

"Spit spot!" the Doctor called as they ran up the stairs. They raced down a hall and through a door…only to find themselves back in the chapel room.

"How did we end up here again?" Rani asked, breathless.

The Doctor and Evy just looked around, concerned…this meant that the Trickster was at work and knew they were closing in. It put Evy on edge with Clyde and Rani in the room as well, knowing the Trickster might appear at any moment.

"It's a spatial loop mixed up with a temporal loop," Clyde answered.

Evy and the Doctor stopped and looked over at Clyde, a bit stunned at how his guess was spot on.

"How did you work that one out?" Rani asked him.

Clyde grinned smugly, putting his hands in the pockets of his brown suit, "Well, we've been doing this for a while now…I _have_ taken notes."

"He's rather a bit like you isn't he?" Evy leaned over to say to the Doctor.

"What?" the Doctor looked at her, confused.

She smirked, "Oh you know, brown suit, white trainers, complicated babble, bit of an ego…" she sighed, "All he needs is a set of brainy specs."

The Doctor looked back and forth between Clyde and himself and Evy before shaking his head frantically. He turned and walked past the two children, looking around the room, getting back to business, "Come on, come on, come on Sarah, let us find you."

"Hang on though, this is mad…" Rani walked forward with Clyde towards the Doctor as Evy followed behind them, keeping her eye out, watching their backs, "The Trickster, he's this all powerful immortal who wants to cause chaos throughout the stars…and he wants Sarah Jane to get _married_?" she turned to the Doctor, "What does he get out of _that_?"

The Doctor looked up at them, "I have…absolutely no idea," he admitted, walking back past them and over to the fireplace with Evy, inspecting it as Clyde and Rani watched.

A moment later Evy pulled out her sonic, hearing it beeping rapidly, "She's here…" she looked around, before fiddling with her sonic, walking towards the altar with the Doctor and the children following her, "I should be able to narrow the loop ratio and…"

She flashed it on and a voice called out from behind them, "Doctor!"

They turned around to see the Trickster floating by the fireplace, now garbed in black.

"Oh, you look better in black or is white the new black?" the Doctor asked, motioning for Evy to put the sonic away as he walked towards the Trickster.

"At last Doctor," the Trickster began.

Evy stepped forward, motioning for Rani and Clyde to stay back as she walked a bit more, standing between the Doctor and the children as she too faced the Trickster. She kept her eye on him, not willing to risk distraction with the children present. She felt very protective of them, not wanting to be too far from them, but not wanting them to be in the line of sight of the Trickster, so she'd placed herself between him and them.

"I could feel this moment reverberating back through the ages, meeting the Pantheon of Discord, the last of the Time Lords…" the Trickster gave a mock bow as the Doctor just stood to face him.

"I've known the legends of the Pantheon since I was a little boy," he remarked, "We've fought your shadows and your changelings. I never thought we'd actually meet."

"And I knew legends of the Doctor, the man of ice and fire, walked among gods, once held the key to time in his hands," he smirked, "Now he's surrounded by children."

"They're my friends," the Doctor glared at him, "Which reminds me. You're looking a bit lonely for a pantheon."

"I embody multitudes."

"Oh…" the Doctor nodded, not believing the creature at all.

"But for you, the man who has lost everybody, to talk to _me_ of loneliness…" he paused, grinning, as he looked over the Doctor's shoulder, right at Evy, "I suppose you have not lost _everybody_ …" Evy stiffened as did the Doctor, but she didn't back down, "But that will not save you, not when the gate is waiting for you…"

"What do you mean?" the Doctor frowned.

The Trickster laughed, looking at the Doctor, "Sarah Jane Smith is my prize. You knew Doctor. Didn't realize how wonderful she is…I wonder, will you make the same mistake with this one?"

The Doctor glared, moving to block the Trickster's view of Evy, "What do you want with Sarah?"

"What I've always wanted for many of those I visit, their agreement. Goodbye Doctor…"

And then he just disappeared.

"Agreement…" the Doctor muttered in thought, trying to focus on anything but the Trickster's veiled threat against Evy, "The power of words…she says I do! Yes! That's it!" he spun around.

"That's what?" Clyde frowned.

"She promises to love and honor her husband," the Doctor began to explain excitedly, turning to Evy, "Wedding ring goes on…"

"And she's _agreed_ to it," Evy realized, "She'll be under the Trickster's power!"

"Marital bliss," the Doctor nodded, "But she forgets all about this. She starts leading a new life."

"Forgetting about her old life," Rani's eyes widened, "Protecting the Earth!"

"And the planet's wide open so that aliens can just barge in," Clyde frowned.

"Without Sarah, without you lot, saving the world from your attic in here," the Doctor told them, "It'd be chaos and destruction. Food and drink to the Trickster."

"That's if she's gonna say yes."

"You don't think she will?" Evy sighed, "We're _here_. We can't stop her from here."

There was suddenly a low wheezing noise that could only be the TARDIS, which drew the Doctor's attention. He spun around, rushing over to the back of the room with Evy and the others following as a blue haze appeared.

"TARDIS!" he shouted, "Beautiful yes!"

The outline of the TARDIS became more pronounced.

"It's homing in on you!" Evy turned to the Doctor, excited, "The emergency program that protects the pilot!"

"Of course! _That's_ materialization!"

"What's happening?" Luke asked, rushing into the room, having heard the TARDIS from the hall.

The Doctor pulled him back, holding out his arms so the children wouldn't get hurt.

"Look!" he pointed at the electricity now fully crackling around the TARDIS, the continued result of the tampering Evy had done before they landed.

"That's pure Artron Energy!" Evy warned them.

"TARDIS power, equal enough to Trickster's power," the Doctor grinned, "That's how we can fight!"

The TARDIS solidified, the energy still around the edges as the Doctor and Evy ran to the door, just managing to unlock it and get inside. But the wind started up again, forcing the children back. The Doctor turned and reached out the door to them, Evy holding on to the side of the door, trying to keep it open long enough. Clyde reached out and just managed to grab the Doctor's hand when the winds grew to be too much. The Doctor and Evy were sucked back into the TARDIS, Clyde falling straight into the walls, dosed with the energy. He fell away just as the TARDIS dematerialized.

~8~

Evy worked on the controls, bringing up a monitor of the children as she and the Doctor ran around the console, trying to get the TARDIS to take them to Sarah Jane to warn her.

"Doctor!" Evy shouted, following Clyde's movements easily now that the Artron Energy had saturated him, "Clyde's facing the Trickster!"

He ran over to the monitor to see Clyde had come face-to-face with the creature, trying to either buy them some time to get to Sarah Jane or weaken the Trickster by using the Artron Energy against him, or both.

"We need to get to Sarah Jane," he shouted. "Now!"

She nodded and pulled out her sonic, jamming it into a port on the controls, locking on to the time trace just enough to struggle through the Trickster's power and appear in the chapel once more, but this time a second later in time.

They ran to the door, struggling to get it open, only to see Sarah Jane standing with Peter by the altar.

"Sarah!" the Doctor shouted.

Sarah Jane turned back with a gasp, running over to them as she saw them, "Doctor! Evy!"

"Make it quick," Evy ground out, struggling to keep the door open, "The TARDIS can't stabilize."

"Clyde's keeping the Trickster busy at the moment," the Doctor added, before grinning, "Oh those three are just _brilliant_!"

"What can I do?" Sarah Jane asked them, tears in her eyes, "If I say no, we're trapped here forever, if I say yes, I condemn the world to the Trickster. Either way I lose, there's no way out."

"It all rests with you Sarah. Your greatest challenge. The hardest thing you'll ever face in your life."

"What is it? Tell me what I've got to do."

The Doctor looked at her sadly, "You've fought the Trickster before, you know how he operates…how he can be defeated…" his gaze flickered to Peter.

"No…" Sarah Jane breathed, looking back at Peter as well. She swallowed hard and turned back to them, shaking her head sorrowfully, "No…"

"We know you're a good man Peter," Evy said softly, looking at the man, "We're _so_ sorry."

Electricity crackled behind them as well as a shout of pain. They looked over to see Clyde and the Trickster appear, hands locked as the Artron Energy swarmed around them.

"Clyde!" Sarah Jane gasped.

"We can't hold it!" Evy shouted as the door slammed shut, throwing them back.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane called from outside, but the TARDIS disappeared.

Evy sat up with a gasp and made her way over to the Doctor's side, "It's all up to her now."

The Doctor shook his head slowly, "Really, it's up to him…" he sighed, thinking on Peter. The man had been the one to make the deal with the Trickster, as they'd figured out when Peter knew who the creature was upon sight of it. HE had to be the one to take back the deal that had changed Sarah Jane's life, whatever it was, not Sarah Jane, "I just hope he makes the right choice."

Evy helped him to his feet, pulling him over to the console to watch the proceedings.

It brought tears to her eyes, watching as Sarah Jane convinced Peter to take back his deal with the Trickster, how Peter faced the creature and gave his life for Sarah Jane's freedom…he had died. The man had been on the brink of death when the Trickster appeared and offered him life once more, as long as he met and wed Sarah Jane. He had been the source of Sarah Jane's greatest happiness, and now he would be the source of her greatest pain.

The TARDIS shook violently as the Trickster's power vanished. They got her to land in the parlor where Rani and Luke were waiting, the seconds starting to converge again.

They said nothing as they just raced past the startled children and back towards the chapel, bursting through the doors for what felt like the thousandth time. Sarah Jane was kneeling on the floor in her wedding gown, an unconscious Clyde in her arms, close to tears.

"Mum!" Luke shouted, running over to her, Rani kneeling down to check on Clyde, as Evy and the Doctor stepped past him and over to Sarah Jane.

"Doctor!" she gasped as the Doctor enveloped her in a hug from her left, "Doctor!"

She looked, startled, to her right as she felt a hand rest on her shoulder to see Evy smiling sadly at her.

"My Sarah Jane," the Doctor whispered to her, "You did it, the trap's broken, time's moving forwards again…"

The room started to shake once more, "We're going home," Evy said as she and the Doctor put their arms around everyone, holding them still, protecting them.

"Hold on!" Luke shouted.

"We're all going home!" the Doctor repeated.

The room shook violently as a bright light filled it. The energy waves surrounded them and suddenly…

Evy and the Doctor were back in the TARDIS, moments after they had broken through the Trickster's barrier.

The Doctor immediately got to work, setting coordinates for Sarah Jane's attic, knowing she didn't need him rushing back into the chapel room again. It would only remind her of what had happened after he'd burst in the last time.

~8~

The TARDIS materialized in Sarah Jane's attic, a tight fit, but enough.

"Doctor!" the Time Lords heard Sarah Jane gasp from out the doors.

"What do you take me for Sarah?" the Doctor asked, opening one of the doors to see a tearful Sarah Jane standing there, surrounded by Luke, Rani, and Clyde, "We just thought we'd go the quick wa…"

He was cut off suddenly by Evy pushing him out of the way and rushing straight for Sarah Jane, half leaping at the woman as she pulled her into a proper hug.

Sarah Jane looked around at the children and then the Doctor, startled, before slowly hugging the woman back. She closed her eyes and hugged her even more tightly, not even realizing how much she needed a good, tight, understanding hug. Both women had experienced the pains that came with love, they could both understand…and they both knew how much just a simple hug could help.

They pulled away, Sarah Jane looking just a bit lighter of heart, the Doctor watching the two with a fond smile on his face.

Evy reached out and wiped a few tears away from Sarah Jane's face with the pads of her thumbs and stepped back to look around, just a bit embarassed for how she'd glomped the poor woman, and cleared her throat, "Oh, I love it here!" she glanced back at the Doctor, "What do you think?"

"Oh yeah," he nodded, looking around, knowing the last thing anyone needed was more comments about the wedding, "Not as big as the TARDIS, mind you, but cozy."

"Can we have a look?" Rani asked suddenly.

"What in the TARDIS?" the Doctor frowned as they nodded excitedly, " _My_ TARDIS?" he demanded, mock angrily. The three frowned, not able to see the smirk on Evy's face as she walked back to the Doctor. He reached out and helped her up the small steps to the edge of the TARDIS before glancing at the children and smiling widely, "Course you can, yeah."

They all ran up, Evy and the Doctor stepping in and aside to let them in. They ran up the ramp, looking around in wonder.

"Oh…wow!" Clyde breathed, "It really is, isn't it? It's bigger on the inside?"

"It's beautiful!" Rani exclaimed, coming around to stand by Luke.

"Transcendental dimensions," Luke smiled.

Evy, the Doctor, and Sarah Jane watched the children happily as they walked around and then ended up by the console.

"Oh what does this do?" Clyde asked, reaching for a button.

"Hey, don't touch," Sarah Jane scolded lightly. The kids looked down as Sarah Jane turned to Evy and the Doctor who were leaning against a Y-beam, "You came all that way...for _me_."

"Because you are SO important Sarah," Evy reached out and took the other woman's hands, squeezing them, with a smile on her face, "And not just to him you know," she nodded back at the Doctor.

"Trickster wanted to end your story," the Doctor smiled at the two of them, "But it goes on," he stepped forward, looking at Sarah Jane with pride, "The things you've done Sarah, they're pretty impressive, but oh, the things you're gonna do!" he glanced over at Luke as the children came back over.

"The future…" Luke smiled, having heard the conversation, "How 'bout we could go for a ride?"

"Or back to the dinosaurs yeah?" Clyde asked.

"Another planet?" Rani's eyes widened at the prospect.

"No way!" Sarah Jane stepped forward, "For one thing, you are grounded by the Judoon…"

"Ooh," Evy winced, "That's just cruel."

The children smiled at her.

"And your parents would never forgive me," Sarah Jane continued, "Go on…" the three filed out of the TARDIS as the Doctor pulled Evy to lean with him against the console. Sarah Jane waited till they were out, before turning back to them, "Is this the last time I'm ever going to see you?"

She looked between the both of them. She'd only just gotten to really meet Evy, she truly hoped she could get to know the woman who had so captured the Doctor's hearts better.

"We don't know," the Doctor said, serious.

"But we hope not!" Evy added, grinning.

Sarah Jane nodded, "Bye Doctor, Evy…until the next time."

"Don't forget us Sarah Jane," the Doctor called after her.

She turned to look at them over her shoulder, "No one's ever going to forget _you_."

They smiled softly as she walked out of the TARDIS, shutting the door behind her. The Doctor turned and flipped a lever, sending the TARDIS back into the Vortex as they just thought on all that had happened.

"That was nice, wasn't it?" Evy asked, looking up at him.

"What was?" he looked at her.

"Having children in the TARDIS?"

"Oh yeah," he nodded slowly but then a true smile grew on his face, "Yeah, I suppose it was."

Evy smiled at that…ever since Jenny, he'd seemed to have healed just a bit from the pain of losing Eta. He'd realized that closing himself off to that sort of love would only hurt him in the future, it would only kill him slowly, infect him, make him incapable of it…and he didn't want to not be able to love his child ever, especially since children always affected him.

"Well, you never know," Evy began softly, "Maybe one day there will be children in the TARDIS again…"

And then she walked off, leaving the Doctor nodding along with her words until…

"Children?!" he looked up at her, eyes wide.

She just laughed and shook her head, walking off and laughing all the harder as she heard him losing his balance and falling off the console.

She paused on the gantry and looked down at him, a soft smile on her face, "Maybe one day."

She turned and walked away, but she knew a small smile had grown on his face at her words.

Maybe one day.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love when Evy teases him, it's so fun. And she's a natural with the children. The way I see it, the Doctor, having lost his son, is even more affected by children, because he sees the life his son could have had had he lived. Evy, having experienced it through him, and her own loss with Jenny, is just as affected.
> 
> Since this chapter was about a wedding, I feel I should warn you, unlike the Academic Series, there will not be a wedding chapter for the Doctor and Evy. BUT! There will be an original chapter coming up at the end of Series 5, won't say what happens in it just yet, but there will be one.
> 
> Next chapter...how will the Doctor react to his Link being in a base on the verge of destruction? Evy really wants to leave...


	6. The Waters of Mars (Part 1)

The TARDIS materialized on the red, rocky ground of Mars. A brilliant planet, the first one to be colonized by humans. Evy grinned at how excited the Doctor was, he was always so fond of alien trips, even if it was in the same system as Earth and not exactly alien…he was just so pleased to be there.

They had been making a habit of their trips. One for Evy and then one for him. They'd seen so much, had so many adventures. It seemed like the Doctor was trying to make up for all the adventures he'd had without her by nonstop trips with her. It was actually a bit tiring at times, but so much fun! And with every trip their bond grew stronger, seeing all that, experiencing it, living through it, it made them stronger, brought them closer.

She laughed as he secured the helmet of her spacesuit for their walk around Mars. Once they were all prepared, he opened the doors and stepped out, holding it open for her to follow.

"The red planet!" he grinned, very happy and satisfied to be there. He'd been aiming for Mars the last two trips they'd done for him and hadn't even landed in the right galaxy both times.

"I suppose it's like they say," Evy commented, "Third time really is the charm."

He laughed, looking around at the beautiful red landscape, before reaching out and taking Evy's hand, the two of them strolling about as though on a walk through a park. They paused when they caught sight of a base in the distance.

"Oh, beautiful!" he grinned, staring at it.

It seemed to be a number of domes linked by tunnels to a very large central hub with a rocket tower standing to one side.

"Um…Doctor…" Evy began, feeling something pushing into her back.

He looked over to see a small robot holding some sort of probe at Evy.

"Rotate," it commanded in a generic, metallic voice. They locked eyes as they slowly raised their hands and turned to face it, "Slowly. You are under arrest. For trespassing. Gadget-gadget."

Evy looked down at the robot, a white box body with tank track feet, long arms and a head with a camera in it. It pointed a gun at them, joints sparking.

~8~

An older woman with blonde hair pointed her gun at the Time Lords, lights on it glowing blue, "State your name, rank, and intention," she ordered them sternly.

The Doctor glanced warily at the gun, stepping closer to Evy as though to protect her with his nearness, "The Doctor…" he paused, "Doctor…" another pause before he spoke almost sadly, "Fun?"

The woman nodded and turned to Evy.

"Um…Evy…" she frowned, "Mechanic?" and then sighed, nodding to the Doctor, "Keeping him out of trouble."

She was failing miserably.

' _Oi!_ ' he said in her mind, ' _I'm not that bad!_ '

' _You ended up in the Tower of London on our last trip,_ ' she reminded him.

' _That wasn't my fault!_ '

' _You tried to flash Elizabeth IV with the sonic amidst a civil war._ '

' _I thought she was a clone!_ '

Before their mini-argument could continue on a door burst open and a man ran into the room, breathless as he'd run down one of the long tunnels from another area of the base. He skid to a halt, seeing the two of them standing there, with the captain aiming a gun at them, "What the hell? It's a man! And a woman!" the Doctor just put his hands in his pockets as Evy lowered hers, both watching the captain continue to point the gun at them, "A man and a woman on Mars! How?"

A woman with dirty-blonde hair in a side ponytail held up their suits, "They were wearing these things. I have never seen anything like this."

"What did mission control say?"

"They're out of range for ten hours with the solar flares."

"You could cut the chat everyone," the captain cut in.

"Actually, chat's second on my list," the Doctor said, "The first being gun, pointed at her head…" he nodded at Evy, "And my head. Which puts our heads second and chat third, I think. Gun, heads, chat, yeah."

Evy shook her head at him, "He's _really_ bad with lists."

The Doctor mock glared at her before turning back to the captain, "But you could hurt someone with that thing! Just put it down."

"Oh, you'd like that," the captain sneered.

"Is there anyone in the world who wouldn't?" Evy countered.

"Why should I trust you?" she asked suspiciously, eyeing them both.

"Because we give you our word," the Doctor replied calmly, "And forty million miles away from home, our word is all you've got."

The captain considered them a moment, trying to stare them down but they wouldn't budge. Slowly, she lowered her gun, "Keep Gadget covering them."

"Gadget-gadget," the robot replied.

They looked over their shoulder to see a young man sitting next to Gadget, wearing silver gloves with a keypad strapped before him.

"Oh, right, so _you_ control that thing," the Doctor commented, "Auto-glove response."

"You got it!" he replied, showing off how he controlled Gadget, "To the right…" he moved his right hand, moving Gadget.

"Gadget-gadget."

"And to the left…" he moved his left hand, moving the bot to the left.

Gadget sparked.

"A bit of a flimsy job…" Evy frowned, already thinking of a half a dozen ways to fix that.

"Gadget-gadget."

"Does it _have_ to keep saying that?" the Doctor asked, annoyed.

"I think it's funny," the young man countered.

The Doctor tensed, "I hate funny robots…" Evy reached over and laid a hand on his arm, calming him down just a bit, reassuring him with her assessment of the bot that it wouldn't be a repeat of all the other robots that had gone evil in the past.

"Excuse me boss," a female voice came over the loudspeaker, "Computer log shows we've got two extra people on site. How's that possible?"

"Keep the bio-dome closed," the captain ordered, "And when using open comms., you call me Captain."

The Doctor and Evy looked slightly impressed by the captain and her take-charge attitude. Reminded Evy a bit of Donna at times…she nearly laughed remembering when Donna had kicked the door to the Library open.

"Yeah, but who is it?" the voice asked again…but then there was a bit of feedback as the captain disconnected the comm..

"It can't be a wild state flight because we'd know about it," an older man commented, he seemed to have an air of authority to him, they guessed he was the second-in-command, "Therefore it's got to be one of the independents, yeah?" the Doctor just stood with his arms folded across his chest while the captain faced him, Evy looking around the base with a frown on her face, she couldn't help but feel like she was missing something important. The second-in-command got up and walked around them, "Was it the Branson Inheritance fund? They've been talking about a Mars shot for years."

"Right, yeah, okay, you got us," the Doctor said, impatient, spinning to face him, "So, I'm the Doctor and this is Evy. And you are?"

"Oh, come on!" the captain cut in abruptly, "We're the first off-world colonists in history! Everyone on planet Earth knows who we are."

"The first?" Evy asked, her eyes wide, tensing, "The _very first_ humans on _Mars_?" she asked slowly, looking around, "Which means this is…"

"Bowie Base One?" Evy and the captain said at once.

"Number one?" the Doctor gaped, shocked, "Founded July 1st 2058. Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater?" he looked over at Evy who stared back at him in horror, realizing they were, in fact, on the first colony…which meant…

They looked around at each of the people standing before them, concerned. Oh, so concerned, because as those brave men and women stood there…they had no idea what was coming.

' _Doctor,_ ' Evy said faintly, still shocked, ' _We need to leave._ '

"You've been here how long?" the Doctor turned to them, hoping against his instinct that they had a bit of time.

"Seventeen months," the captain replied.

"So it's 2059?" Evy breathed, frightened, before trying to cover it, "It's 2059 right now?"

"And you're Captain Adelaide Brooke!" the Doctor turned to the captain, both he and Evy recalling the date she died and where…

"And Ed," Evy frowned, looking over at the second-in-command, "You're deputy Edward Gold..."

"Tarak Ital, M.D," the Doctor looked at the man who had run through the door before, "Nurse Yuri Kerenski," and another man with black hair.

"Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich," Evy eyed the woman who held their suits before glancing at the young man who controlled Gadget, "Junior technician Roman Groom."

"Geologist Mia Bennett," the Doctor frowned at a pretty Asian woman, "You're only 27 years old…"

Mia looked worried at his choice of words.

"As I said," Adelaide rolled her eyes, " _Everyone_ knows our names."

"Oh, they'll never forget them," he shook his head sadly.

This poor group of brave individuals…they had no idea they were going to die there in a horrible explosion some time soon.

"What's today's date?" Evy asked, quickly, "What is it? The _exact_ date?"

"November 21st 2059," Adelaide huffed.

Today. They were going to die today.

' _Doctor, we NEED to leave,_ ' Evy insisted.

He nodded vaguely at her, before speaking to the crew, "Right! Fine..."

"Is there something wrong?" Steffi asked, eyeing them.

"What's so important about my age?" Mia asked, growing uncomfortable.

"Doctor," Evy began, out loud this time, "We should…go. We should _really_ go."

He nodded, stepping away with her as Adelaide and the others watched them back up.

"We're sorry," the Doctor frowned at them, "I'm…I'm sorry with all of my hearts. But it's one of those very rare times when…" Evy took his hand in hers, "When we've got no choice," she could feel the pain at this encounter eating away at him, "It's been an honor!" he stepped forward to shake everyone's hands, "Seriously, a very great honor to meet you all. The Martian Pioneers. Oh, thank you!" he went to shake Roman's hands but couldn't as he was still wearing the gloves, so the boy just held up a hand as the Doctor tapped Gadget.

"Gadget-gadget."

He turned to Adelaide and saluted her, "Thank you!" he turned and returned to Evy in the doorway, "Where's the other two? Hold on…"

"Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone," Evy answered, she'd been wondering the same thing.

"Maggie, if you want to meet the only new human beings you're going to see in the next five years, better come take a look," Ed called into the comms..

But instead of Maggie responding, there was a low, animalistic growl over the speakers. Everyone looked up, unsettled.

' _That does NOT sound good,_ ' the Doctor commented to Evy.

' _We really,_ really _need to go,_ ' Evy replied, growing more unsettled as the seconds ticked by, ' _Now._ '

"What was that?" Mia asked, frightened.

"Oh, we really should go,!" the Doctor mumbled, but he made no move to leave.

Evy looked between him and the crew anxiously, knowing how much he wanted to help them, but also knowing that they couldn't. They just _couldn't_...

"This is central," Ed said over the comm., "Bio-dome report immediately."

"Show me the bio-dome," Adelaide moved to sit in front of the computer as Ed brought up scans and images of the security footage but there was only static.

"Oh, cameras are down…"

"Show me the exterior."

Ed dropped into a chair and worked the controls, revealing the bio-dome from the outside, the lights going off, one by one.

"I'm going over," Adelaide stood, turning to Evy and the Doctor, "Evy, Doctor, with me!"

That seemed to snap the Doctor out of his thoughts as he took Evy's hand and tried to step back, "Yeah, I'm sorry. Um, we…we'd love to help, but…" he moved to take the suit from Steffi, "We're leaving. Right now."

"Take their spacesuits," Adelaide ordered, "Lock them up," Steffi went to do so as Adelaide turned to the Doctor and Evy once more, "This started as soon as you two arrived so you're not going anywhere except with me."

Ed glanced from the Doctor, who looked uncomfortable, to Evy, who looked quite pale and anxious to get out. But they could do nothing as Adelaide turned and ushered them out of the room, handing them torches, leading them down a tunnel with Tarak and Gadget, each of them using the torches to light the way, save for the Doctor who had his arm around Evy as they walked. He could feel how tense she was from a combination of her Link's imminent potential doom in a fiery explosion and the fact that they had to let all those people die for the timeline's sake. He was feeling much the same.

"Gadget-gadget."

"What's so important about Mia's age?" Adelaide asked, glancing at the Doctor as they walked, "You said she's _only_ 27\. What does that matter? What did you mean?"

"He just opens my mouth sometimes and words come out," Evy tried to shrug the question off, "They never make much sense…even to me," she smiled wearily up at the Doctor who just squeezed her shoulder a bit more.

"You're telling me," Tarak commented.

"Thank you, doctor," the Doctor said after a moment.

"Anytime," Tarak smirked, "Doctor."

"Gadget-gadget."

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder at the small robot, "I hate robots. Did I say?"

"Many, _many_ times," Evy replied.

"Yeah, and he's not too fond of you!" Roman grumbled through the comm., "What's wrong with robots?"

"It's not the robot exactly, he takes issue with the people," Evy sighed, answering for him, "The ones who dress them up and give them silly voices. It's like they're...reducing them."

"Yeah, friend of mine, she made her domestic robot look like a dog."

The Doctor smiled, "Oh, well, dogs! That's different."

"But I adapted Gadget out of the worker drones," Roman continued, proudly extolling his robot, "Those things are huge. They built this place when the shell was lowered down from orbit. Got a strength capacity of fifteen tons…"

"This channel is open for essential communications only," Adelaide cut in.

"Sorry…" Roman replied quickly, before adding quietly, "Love those drones."

Evy eyed Adelaide carefully, phrasing her question carefully as well, "We've read quite a lot about you, Captain Adelaide. But there was one thing they never quite answered...did..." she cleared her throat, " _Do_ you think it was worth it? This mission?"

Adelaide looked over at them, "We've got excellent results from the soil analysis."

"No, but all of it!" the Doctor explained, "'Cos they say you sacrificed _everything_. Devoted your whole life to get here."

Adelaide was quiet for a moment before speaking, "It's been chaos back home. Forty long years. The climate, the ozone, the oil apocalypse. We almost reached extinction. And to fly above that…to stand on a world with no smoke, where the only straight line is the sunlight, yes, it's worth it."

The Doctor and Evy grinned at her, "Ah, that's the Adelaide Brooke I always wanted to meet!"

"The woman with starlight in her soul," Evy added softly.

Adelaide stared straight ahead, not acknowledging their words, though they could see a faint hint of a smile on her face. Though it faded quickly as they saw something a few feet away, "What's that?" they ran forwards to see the body of an unconscious black woman lying there, "It's Maggie!"

"Don't touch her!" Evy warned quickly.

"I know the procedure!" Tarak snapped back before leaning over Maggie, speaking softly to her as he pulled on rubber gloves, "Maggie, can you hear me? It's Tarak. Maggie…" he rolled he rover, "It's ok. She's still breathing."

The Doctor and Evy looked up at the darkened hallway, lit only by dim emergency lights.

"She's alive!" Tarak called, pulling out a comm. link, "Yuri, I've got Margaret Caine. Head trauma. I need a full med-pack."

"I've got it!" Yuri called back, "Med-pack on its way."

A moment later both Ed and Yuri came running down the corridor with a med-pack and a white stretcher.

"Don't touch her," the Doctor warned them as well, watching with his arms crossed, "Use the gloves!"

"Do what he says," Tarak agreed, leaning over Maggie, "Get her to sick-bay," he ordered Yuri, "Put her in isolation."

"We're going on to the bio-dome," Adelaide replied, standing up, "Tarak, with me. Yuri can take care of her. Ed, go back. Gadget, stand guard. Keep an eye on this area."

"Gadget-gadget."

"Captain, you're going to need me," Ed said, but Adelaide sighed, "Andy's the only other crew member out here. And if that wasn't an accident…" Yuri looked startled at the suggestion, "Then he's gone wild."

Adelaide tensed, "You've deserted your post. Consider that an official warning. Now get back to work. Evy! Doctor!"

They both glanced at Ed a moment all three understanding the danger that might await them in the bio-dome. The Doctor took Evy's hand tightly in his own before they headed off down the corridor, following Adelaide.

"Captain, that sound we heard from the bio-dome…" Steffi's voice came over the comm., "I've run it through diagnostics. According to the computer, it's…Andy," the small group exchanged a look as they entered the airlock, "It registers as the voiceprint of Andy Stone."

"Understood," Adelaide replied, "Double-check thanks."

"Air-pressure stabilized," Tarak called from a keypad. The door opened to the bio-dome and Adelaide stepped out first, followed by the Doctor and Evy, and finally Tarak. The two crew members flashed their torches around the room as Evy went over to a computer, they would need far more light to survive if this Andy fellow was really after them.

"Andrew?" Adelaide called, "Andrew Stone? It's Captain Brooke. Andy, report. I need to see you. Where are you?"

Evy pulled out two wires, working on trying to connect them in the dim lights when the Doctor strode over and whipped out his sonic, getting the lights back up with a single flash over the controls.

"Cheater," Evy smirked at him as he pulled her up to her feet.

"Oi!" he replied, mock offended, "You've got one too you know!" he waggled his sonic in front of her before flipping it in his hand.

"What's that device?" Adelaide asked, eyeing them.

"Screwdriver," he held it up.

"Are you the Doctor or the Janitor?"

"I don't know, sounds like me," he put the sonic away, smiling.

"Maintenance Man of the Universe," Evy joked.

"You stay with me," Adelaide turned to the Doctor, "Don't step out of my sight. Tarak…" she turned to him, "You take the girl, go to external door south. Make sure it's intact..."

"Um, no," the Doctor cut in, his grip on Evy tightening, "Evy's with me…" Adelaide opened her mouth, "Or neither of us go in there and we stand by the door."

Adelaide huffed but rolled her eyes, but she was unwilling to leave these two strangers alone for more than a second, "Fine, Tarak, south door."

Tarak nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

Adelaide watched Tarak walk off before leading the duo behind her through rows of plants.

The Doctor looked over at the racks and plots of vegetation as Evy eyed them closely, "This is quite the achievement," she told Adelaide, "The first flower on Mars in 10,000 years."

"And you're growing veg!" the Doctor laughed.

"It's that lot," Adelaide replied dismissively, "They're already planning Christmas dinner. Last year it was dehydrated protein. This year, the real thing."

"Still, fair enough," the Doctor shrugged, "Christmas."

"If you must," Adelaide smiled a bit.

They looked up at the sound of birds tweeting somewhere above them.

"You've got birds!" Evy smiled, she'd always had an affinity with birds, able to just spread their wings and fly anywhere they wanted. She supposed it was why she'd chosen her name, Evelyn, beautiful bird, she'd always wanted to be one. She laughed quietly to herself, perhaps it was fate's way of saying she was meant to be with the Doctor, having wanted to fly and explore all her life as he did.

"Part of the project. Keep the insect population down."

"Good sign," the Doctor agreed.

"In what way?"

"They're still alive."

The comm. crackled and Yuri's voice came over, "Captain, good news. It's Maggie. She's awake. She's back with us," there was a rustle and then he spoke again, but this time to Maggie, "Hey, how are you soldier? Just take it easy. Can you remember what happened?"

"I was just…working," Maggie replied, "Then I woke…woke up here."

"What about Andy?" Adelaide asked, "We can't find him. Is he alright?"

"I don't know. I just…"

"If you remember anything, let me know straight away."

"Yuri, does she know how she ended up in the tunnel?" Ed came online.

"And keep the comms. clear! Everything goes through me. Got that?"

Seeing Adelaide was no longer in the mood for any sort of light conversation, they walked around in silence a while longer. That is until…

"This is sick-bay," Yuri called, distressed, over the comm., "We have a situation! Maggie's condition has…I don't know! I don't know what it is! It's…it's water, just…pouring out!"

"Yuri, calm down," Adelaide called, "Just tell me what's happened to her."

"The skin is…sort of broken around the mouth. And she's exuding water, like she's drowning!"

"Tarak, this area's unsafe, we're going back," Adelaide called over the comm., "Tarak! Tarak!"

"Where was he?" the Doctor asked urgently.

Adelaide took off, running back through the bio-dome for the south door, Evy and the Doctor running after her. They ran past another row of plants when Adelaide suddenly stopped. Evy grabbed the Doctor's arm as he kept running, pulling him back to where Adelaide was standing. There, at the end of the row, they could see Andy standing over a kneeling Tarak, his hand pressed against Tarak's head, pouring water over him.

Evy moved her light to shine on them.

"Andy?" the Doctor began, hesitantly, "Just leave him alone."

Adelaide pulled out her gun, aiming it at Andy, "Step away from him officer, that's an order. As the captain of this group, I order you, don't!"

Evy looked between the two as Adelaide started moving forwards, speaking at the same time as the Doctor said, "We can help, we promise! We can help! Just leave that man alone. Andy, I'm asking you, take your hand away from him and listen to us."

Evy ran up to them, putting an arm in front of both of them, stopping them, as Andy turned his head towards them. Adelaide gasped, seeing him. His mouth was dried and cracked, but leaking water while his eyes were nearly white. He stared at them, eyes wide, before lifting his hand off of Tarak who slumped down.

"There now, that's better, hmm?" the Doctor said quietly, looking between Andy and Adelaide, "So, you must be Andy. Hello."

"Doctor," Evy murmured, "Don't."

Tarak slowly straightened and turned to them, his mouth cracked and eyes white as Andy's were, leaking water.

"We've got to go," Evy turned to Adelaide.

They all turned and ran, with Andy and Tarak chasing after them through the bio-dome. They ran to the door, prying it open and running through it.

"Set the seal to maximum!" Evy shouted to the captain as she and the Doctor worked on shutting the door, managing to close it just as Andy raised his arm and shot a stream of water at them.

The Doctor jumped back from the door, pulling Evy with him, the two almost colliding with Adelaide as she stared through the small window at the approaching Andy who slammed his face against it.

"Captain, we need you back here," Steffi came over the comm..

"Just tell me that Maggie is contained," Adelaide said, her voice wavering just a bit, "Can you confirm it?"

"Confirmed," Ed replied, "She's locked in."

"Keep surveillance till I get back. And close down all water supplies. All pipes and outlets. Don't consume anything. Have you got that, everyone? That's an order. Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop."

Evy slowly approached the door, staring out the window at Andy who was staring back, as if trying to find a way inside.

"Can you talk?" the Doctor asked him, watching the man as well.

"Humans are sixty percent water," Evy remarked in thought, "The perfect host..."

"What for?" Adelaide frowned.

"Don't know," the Doctor shook his head, pulling Evy away.

"And we never will," Evy agreed, turning to him, "Because we've _got_ to _go_. Whatever started here, we _can't_ see it to the end. We just _can't_."

He sighed, but nodded.

Andy slammed himself physically against the door, causing them to jump as Tarak came to help, spraying water against the seal.

"This thing's airtight, yeah?" the Doctor asked, grabbing Evy's hand and pulling her behind him.

"And therefore watertight," Adelaide nodded.

"Well that would depend on how clever the water is, wouldn't it?" Evy mumbled as the lock suddenly sparked.

"It's fusing the system!"

"Abandon ship!" the Doctor shouted, pushing the women through the second door. They ran out into the tunnel, Andy and Tarak managing to get through the door and run after them.

Evy skid to a halt on her knees before Gadget, pulling out her sonic.

"We haven't got time!" Adelaide shouted at her.

"They can run faster than us," Evy replied, flashing her sonic on the bot, "So we need something faster than them."

"Gadget-gadget."

The Doctor jumped on behind Gadget, pulling Evy up as well, "Get on!" he shouted to Adelaide.

"That thing goes at two miles an hour!" Adelaide countered.

"Not anymore," Evy replied.

"Trust us," the Doctor added.

Adelaide looked back at the fast approaching figures before taking Evy's offered hand and jumping on next to her. Evy flashed the sonic once more, nodding to the Doctor.

"Ready Gadget?" he asked the robot.

"Gadget-gadget."

The Doctor peeled off, flames pouring out of the back of the small robot as it sped down the hall, leaving twin streams of flaming tracks behind him. Andy and Tarak tried to keep up but were having a hard time.

The Doctor faced forward with an expression of grim determination as Evy kept him updated of their progress behind as she and Adelaide clung to the sides of the robot. Soon enough they were at the end of the tunnel, Gadget looking a little worse for the wear and burnt along the edges.

"The central dome airlocks have got Hardinger seals," Adelaide said, jumping off the robot and frantically unlocking the door to the central hub, "There's no way they can get in."

They ran through, the Doctor holding the door open for Gadget, "Come on, come on!"

"Gadget-gadget."

"Come on, come on, come on!" he ushered as the robot began to clumsily move towards the door.

"I thought you hated robots!" Adelaide shouted.

"I do!"

"Unless they save our lives," Evy amended.

As soon as Gadget had slid into the room, they shut the door, sealing it just as Andy and Tarak reached them.

"We're safe," Adelaide gasped, "It's hermetically sealed, they can't get in."

"Water is patient, captain," Evy shook her head, a bit out of breath, "Water can waits, can wear down the cliff tops, mountains, the whole world…" she looked at her meaningfully, "Water will always win."

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted, taking her hand and pulling her out of the room, Adelaide rushing after them with the comm..

"The bio-dome tunnel is out of bounds," Adelaide reported, opening a door to another tunnel, "Andy and Tarak are infected. Repeat, infected. Make no contact. And if they make the slightest move, tell me. I'm going to the medical dome."

As they ran down the tunnel towards the med-dome the Doctor couldn't help but remark, "Blimey, it's a distance. You could do with bikes in this place."

"Every pound in weight equals three tons of fuel."

"Yeah, I know, but…bikes!"

Adelaide just looked at him as though he were mad.

"I know that feeling," Evy commented to her.

Adelaide just shook her head at the both of them before running into the medical dome where Yuri and Ed were watching Maggie, standing behind a glass. She looked just like Andy and Tarak, except or the fact her eyes weren't white.

"Has that door got a Hardinger seal?" Adelaide asked, looking at the door that led to the isolation room.

"No, just basic," Ed replied.

"Well, the moment she heads for the door, we evacuate, got that?"

Ed turned back to the medical monitor, "Pulse is low," he told them, "Electrical activity in the brain seems to be going haywire."

"Can she talk?"

"I don't know," Yuri shook his head, "She was talking before we noted the change, but…"

"Maggie, can you hear me?" Adelaide walked over to the glass, standing before it, "Do you know who I am?" Maggie didn't answer, she just turned to look at the Doctor and Evy, eyeing them, "Your commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brooke. Can you tell me what happened?"

The Doctor began to speak in an odd language, Evy joining in as well just once or twice, as the crew looked on in confusion…all except Maggie who stared at them, her eyes wider.

"What language is that?" Ed frowned.

"Ancient North Martian," Evy answered.

"Don't be ridiculous," Adelaide scoffed.

"It's like she recognized it," Ed commented.

"And her eyes are different," the Doctor frowned, looking at the woman, "They're clear, like she's closer to human."

"Not close enough for me."

"Where does your water come from?" Evy asked, eyeing the water dripping from Maggie's mouth.

"The ice field," Adelaide replied, "That's why we chose the crater, we're on top of an underground glacier."

The Doctor nodded in understanding, "Tons of water. Marvelous."

"But every single drop is filtered, it's clean, it's safe," Yuri argued.

The Doctor just nodded at Maggie, "Looks like it, yeah."

"If something was frozen down there..." Ed began, "A viral life form, held in the ice for all those years."

"Her mouth," Evy murmured, leaning forward, "It's blackened, like some sort of fission. This thing, whatever it is, doesn't just _hide_ in water, it _creates_ water."

The Doctor stepped forward, looking at Maggie, "Tell us what you want."

"She was looking at the screen, at Earth," Yuri said as Maggie just stared, "She wanted Earth. A world full of water."

"Captain, with me," Ed called, heading across to the other side of the room with Adelaide. The Doctor and Evy exchanged a glance before the Doctor moved towards the computer in an attempt to listen while Evy kept an eye on Maggie.

"I'm sorry, but it's an unknown infection and it's spreading," Ed said in a hushed voice, though the Doctor, and therefore Evy, could still hear him, "That demands an Action Procedure One."

"You think I don't know that?" Adelaide demanded.

"I think you need reminding."

Adelaide nodded and sighed tiredly, "Yeah."

"Well, at least I'm good for something."

Adelaide smiled a bit, "Now and again."

Ed half smiled at that, "That's almost a compliment. Things must be serious."

They both smiled, when the Doctor came bounding over, "Sorry, sorry. Action One, that means evacuation, yeah?" he looked back at Evy who had moved near the computer where he'd been standing, looking on.

Adelaide nodded, "We're going home," she then picked up the comm., "This is Captain Brooke. I am declaring Action One. Repeat, all crew members this is Action One with immediate effect," an alarm began to sound, "Evacuate the base," she waited a moment before speaking again, "Steffi, what's your estimate on shuttle viability?"

"A nine month flight…" Steffi began, "It'll take us at least three hours to load up everything we need."

"You've got twenty minutes! And give me a report on Andy and Tarak."

"Still in the bio-dome tunnel. They're just standing there, like they're waiting."

"Keep an eye on them, and make that twenty minutes fifteen," she looked over to see the Doctor and Evy standing near where Maggie was contained, odd expressions on their face, almost as if they were having a private conversation though neither one was speaking, "Ed, fire up the shuttle. Go straight to ignition status."

"Doing it now!" Ed ran out of the room.

"What about Maggie?" Yuri asked.

"She stays behind," Adelaide replied, "We've got no way to contain her on board. Close this place down. I want the power directed to the shuttle."

"Of course, the only problem is…" the Doctor began, walking over. He and Evy had been discussing the procedure, how it wouldn't work…and finally how they could keep them from going through with it, not because they _knew_ the base was destined to explode, but because any one of the crew could have been infected without the others knowing, like Maggie had been.

"Thank you, Doctor, Evy. Your spacesuits will be returned and good luck to you."

"The problem is that this thing is clever," Evy stepped up as well, "The birds were living in the bio-dome, but weren't infected. That means this infection, it's clever enough to choose the humans. I told before you, Adelaide, that water can wait. Tarak and Andy probably changed the moment they were infected, but Maggie...when she was infected, it was able to stay hidden, inside her. It _wanted_ to get out of the bio-dome. Which means…"

Adelaide almost stumbled back in realization, "Any one of us could already be infected. We've all been drinking the same water."

"And if you take that back to Earth…" the Doctor nodded, "One drop. Just one drop."

"But…we're only presuming infection," she tried to argue desperately, "If we can find out how this thing got through, _when_ it got through…" she turned, "Yuri, continue with Action One. I'm going to inspect the ice field."

Yuri nodded and continued his work as Adelaide ran out of the room.

Evy sighed and turned to the Doctor, "We should leave. Now. We should go..."

He nodded, looking down at her, "No point us seeing the ice field…no point at all…no…"

Evy shook her head, seeing where his thoughts were going, "Doctor we _can't_ …" she took his hands in hers, "We can't find out what's going on. We _need_ to _leave_. Now."

He hesitated, "What if it's like Pompeii?"

"Then we caused this," she replied, not wanting to have to do that again.

"Then we _need_ to cause it," he countered.

Evy frowned, "Do you want to live through that again?" she asked softly.

He didn't answer, looking over at the direction Adelaide had gone, "I'm sorry…" he whispered to her, kissing her forehead, "But if it's like Pompeii…we need to see it through to the _end_ …" he took her hand and squeezed it.

No matter how much he wanted to leave, to get her out of the base before it was in danger, so far the crew were planning to leave, if it was like Pompeii, they needed to stay and make sure it exploded...no matter how horrible that was.

He turned and pulled her down the hall after the captain, "Adelaide!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This episode always left me so torn. I felt like the Doctor didn't want to be there for so many reasons but stayed for so many reasons too. Like, he wanted to know why it blew up, but didn't want to have a hand in it. He wanted to help them survive, but knew that they'd only be surviving to the explosion that he shouldn't change. He didn't want it to happen, but in a way he needed to make sure it did happen for the sake of the human race. Poor Doctor...I felt so bad that he had to go through that alone.
> 
> But now Evy's there with him...oh boy...
> 
> Next chapter...River once asked if Evy and the Doctor had just come from Mars when she saw Evy wearing the Filter...how will Evy react to what he does? And Evy being one of the inspired means more than just her seeing things a different way...poor Evy...


	7. The Waters of Mars (Part 2)

Evy bit her lip hard as she ran down the tunnel with the Doctor, the two of them easily catching up to Adelaide.

"All I'm saying is…bikes!" the Doctor said, trying to lighten the mood, "Little fold-away bikes. Don't weigh a thing."

They ran into a huge open area, with a wide square cut into the base of it where a huge sheet of ice could be seen.

"They tell legends of Mars from long ago," he commented, staring down at the ice, "The fine and noble race that built an empire out of snow. The Ice Warriors."

"I haven't got time for stories," Adelaide waved him off, running to a computer.

"Maybe they discovered something," Evy replied, "And used their resources and power to freeze it down there."

"We need to find any sort of change in the water process," Adelaide told them, looking through the computer files, "We've got to date the infection."

The Doctor went to type on a computer next to Adelaide's for a moment before, "Access denied," the computer announced.

Evy sighed and nudged him to the side, typing away herself, as Adelaide glanced at them from time to time.

"You two don't look like cowards," she commented, "But all you've wanted to do is leave," she gave them a sideways glance, "You both know so much about us."

"Well, you're famous," the Doctor shrugged, watching Evy type.

"It's like you know _more_."

"This moment…" he began, struggling, trying to find the words he could say without giving everything away, Evy glanced up at him with warning, "This precise moment in time, it's like…I mean, it's only a theory, what do I know, but, I think certain moments in time are fixed. Tiny, precious moments. Anything else is in flux. Anything can happen. But those certain moments, they have to stand. This base on Mars, with you, Adelaide Brooke, this is one _vital_ moment. What happens here must _always_ happen."

Adelaide tensed, obviously frightened by his words but trying to cover it up, "Which is what?"

"We don't know," Evy said quickly, shaking her head at the Doctor.

' _We're not supposed to tell her. Say too much and it could change things for the worse,_ ' she warned.

' _But we can't just leave her here to deal with this not knowing things will be alright in the end,_ ' he argued.

' _They die in a fiery explosion, how is THAT alright?_ ' Evy asked, a bit of Donna slipping into her.

' _The future that her granddaughter creates because of her. That's how._ '

"I think something wonderful happens," the Doctor turned to Adelaide, trying to offer just a bit of comfort, "Something that started fifty years ago, isn't that right?"

Adelaide's eyes widened as she turned to them, now very frightened of how he knew about her, about that, "I've never told anyone that."

"You told your daughter."

' _Careful,_ ' Evy warned.

"And maybe, one day, she tells the story to her daughter," he continued, "Of the day the Earth was stolen and moved across the Universe. And you…"

Adelaide hesitated, sensing that they already knew the story, but speaking nonetheless, "I saw the Daleks…we looked up. The sky had changed. Everyone was running and screaming. And my father took hold of me…" she trailed off in thought, recalling that day, "He led me to my room and told me to stay there, that he was going to find my mother and bring her back. He promised they'd _both_ come back…I never saw him again. Nor my mother. They were never found. But out on the streets, there was panic and burning. I went to the window…and there, in the sky, I saw it, Doctor, a Dalek. And it saw me. It stared at me. It looked right into me. And then…" she half smiled, tears in her eyes, "It simply went away. I knew, that night, I knew I would follow it."

"Not for revenge though," Evy said, more of a statement than a question.

"What would be the point of that?"

The Doctor smiled, " _That's_ what makes you remarkable. And _that's_ how you create history."

"Doctor," Evy turned to him, sharply.

"What d'you mean?" Adelaide looked confusedly between the two of them.

"Imagine it, Adelaide," the Doctor began quickly, knowing if he hesitated, if he stopped, Evy and his own mind would keep him from continuing, "If you began a journey that takes the human race all the way out to the stars. It begins with you. And then your granddaughter, you _inspire_ her!"

"Doctor!" Evy's eyes widened, seeing what he was planning to tell Adelaide, but it was too late.

"So that, in thirty years, Susie Fontana Brooke is the pilot of the first light speed ship to Proxima Centauri. And then everywhere, with her children and her children's children forging away to the Dragon Star, the Celestial Belt of the Winter Queen, the Map of the Water Snake Wormholes."

"Doctor! Stop it!"

"One day a Brooke will even fall in love with a Tandonian prince, and that's the start of a whole new species," the Doctor smiled, looking at Adelaide, "But everything all starts with _you_ , Adelaide. From fifty years ago to right here, today. Imagine."

Evy shook her head in shock, ' _Do you have ANY idea how many laws you just broke?_ '

' _She's going to die in a fiery explosion anyway remember?_ ' he shot back bitterly. At least he could give the woman a bit of comfort that she gave the human race the way to survive.

"Who are you?" Adelaide paused, looking at them, "Why are you telling me this? Doctor? Why tell me?"

"Don't," Evy warned him, which only made Adelaide frown in concern.

"As consolation," the Doctor replied, pained.

Evy hit a button on the computer, finally managing to crack the system, a log popped up with Andy's profile.

"Andy Stone," Evy read, "Logged on only yesterday."

She clicked the log and a video popped up of Andy, "Maintenance log, 21:20, November 20, 2059. Number three water filter's bust," he held up the filter, "And guess what. The spares they sent don't fit. What a surprise. Over and out."

"A filter!" the Doctor almost laughed, "One tiny little filter and then the flood!"

"But that means the infection arrived today and the water's only cycled out of the bio-dome after a week," Adelaide breathed a sigh of relief, "The rest of us _can't_ be infected. We can leave!" she brought up the comm., "Ed, we're clean, how're we doing?"

"Shuttle's active, stage one," Ed replied.

Adelaide nodded and turned to run back to the central hub, the Doctor and Evy running after them. The Doctor looked pained, not just from what he knew was coming for the crew, but for the anger he was feeling from Evy, she was far angrier with him than the time he'd knocked her out to face the Sontarans…

"You were right, Doctor," Adelaide said lightly.

"What about?" he looked over at her, pulled out of his thoughts.

Adelaide smiled, "Bikes!" he managed a semi- forced chuckle as they reached the control room again. Adelaide went over to a bin and picked up the spacesuits, handing them back to the Doctor and Evy, "Now get to your ship. I'm saving my people, you save yourselves. I know what this moment is, it's the moment we _escape_. Now get out!"

Evy winced at the hope in the woman's voice as the Doctor clutched the suits, staring after her in pain. They stood there, motionless, watching the crew packing, knowing the whole truth of what as actually going to happen.

Evy looked over as a faint beeping noise began. She could see a blinking alarm, the bio-feeds tracing Andy and Tarak going off. But with all the noise and shouting and rustling, the crew didn't hear. She nudged the Doctor, the two of them looking from the beeping to the ceiling where the computer was saying the other two crewmen were, but they said nothing.

' _We can't,_ ' Evy whispered in his mind, ' _We've done enough damage already._ '

The Doctor winced, his words had given Adelaide hope…

The crew continued packing for just a bit longer before Adelaide finally noticed the alarms beeping, "What the hell is noise?" she demanded, "Mia, you lot, shut up!"

"It's the module sensors," Ed said, "Exterior twelve. The cameras are down, but there's pressure on top of the module. Two signals, right above us."

"That means…" Steffi began, frightened, her voice shaking as she looked up at the ceiling along with everyone else, "…they're on the roof?"

"How did they get inside the dome?" Roman asked.

"They used the maintenance shafts," Ed realized.

"The shaft's open and they haven't got spacesuits," Mia shook her head, scared, as Yuri took her hand.

The Doctor eyed them, devastated, as he watched the two seek comfort in each other. Without realizing, he took Evy's hand as well.

"They breathe water," Ed replied.

"They'll freeze," Steffi argued.

"They've got that internal fission," Yuri breathed.

"We're safe," Mia tried to find hope, "They can't get through, can they?" there was a creaking noise, a grinding sound, as though metal material was being broken down, "Can they?"

"This place is airtight," Roman shook his head.

"Can they get through?" Steffi looked around, "Ed? Can they get through?"

"I don't know," Ed frowned, "The water itself is immotile, but it has some sort of persistence."

"Everyone, listen to me," Adelaide took charge, "That's ten feet of steel combination up there. We'll need all the protein packs or we're gonna starve. Now keep working. Roman…" she tapped his arm, "Watch the ceiling. Ed, get to the shuttle. Fire it up."

"I can carry more than this lot can!"

"That's an order!"

"Captain!" he half grinned and ran out.

' _Doctor,_ ' Evy whispered to him, leaning her forehead against his arm as Adelaide glanced over at them amidst everyone scrambling to try and work out ways to survive, ' _It's already going to hell…we didn't cause this. We need to GO._ '

She tugged his hand, leading him out of the room, neither of them looking back. They made their way over to the airlock they'd been brought in through, both putting on their suits in silence. Evy watched the Doctor as he finished suiting up, concern radiating off of her for him. He looked so devastated. She felt it too, she didn't _want_ this to happen, not after having gotten to know Adelaide Brooke. But this wasn't like Pompeii, _no one_ survived this explosion.

"Are you ready?" she asked, attaching his helmet for him.

"No," he replied, but he took her hand anyway and they turned to the airlock.

They stepped in and shut the door behind them. Evy pushed the button to open the other door but…

"Access denied," the computer announced.

She tried again but…

"Access denied."

"Tell me what happens," Adelaide's voice came on over the comm. in their suits.

"We don't know," Evy answered.

"Yes, you do. Now tell me."

"You should be with your crew..."

"Tell me!" she demanded angrily, but they were silent, "I could ramp up the pressure in that airlock and crush you."

"Except you won't," the Doctor said, gripping Evy's hand tightly at just the thought of it, "You could have shot Andy Stone, but you didn't. I loved you for that…" he paused, "Imagine…"

There was silence a moment as the Doctor fought against himself as to whether or not to tell her the truth.

"Imagine you knew something," Evy said carefully, "Imagine you were in Pompeii…"

"What the hell's that got to do with it?" Adelaide asked.

"And you want to save them and by trying to, you _make_ it happen."

"Anything I do just makes it happen," the Doctor mumbled, sounding so tired and broken that Evy could feel herself start to cry, but she had to be strong for him.

"Captain, we need you right now!" Steffi's voice sounded before a door shut.

"I'm still here," Adelaide said after a moment.

The Doctor took a deep breath before turning to face the camera, "You're taking Action One."

"Doctor," Evy whispered, tugging his hand.

"There are four more standard action procedures, and Action Five is…"

"Detonation," Adelaide answered.

"The final option. The nuclear device at the heart of the central dome."

"Doctor, don't!" Evy warned, knowing that his words would set into motion the events that would keep the fixed point as it was meant to be, but knowing that by him doing so it would make him responsible for it, that would kill him.

He ignored her.

"Today, on the 21st of November, 2059, Captain Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all her crew members with her. No one ever knows why. But you were saving Earth."

"Doctor, you need to stop!"

"That's what inspires your granddaughter. She takes your people out into the galaxy because you die on Mars. You die today. She flies out there, like she's trying to meet you."

Adelaide gasped, "I won't die…" they could hear the tears in her eyes, before she spoke more determined, "I will _not_!"

"But your death creates the future."

There was silence.

"Help me," she begged, but they were silent, "Why won't you help, if you know all this, why can't you change it?"

"We can't," Evy shook her head, "Adelaide, we're aware. But we _can't_."

"Why can't you find a way? Tell me. I don't know."

"I'm sorry, but I can't!" the Doctor shouted, silencing her, "Sometimes we can. Sometimes we do. Most times we can save someone or anyone. But not you. You've wondered all your life why that Dalek spared you. I think it knew! Your _death_ is _fixed_ in time. Forever. And that's _right_."

There was silence a moment before Evy took a breath, "For us to _change_ that…something that has _so great_ an impact on the events of _history_...of the _future_...it's too much power," she blinked back tears, thinking of her brother, "It turns us into monsters."

Adelaide swallowed hard, "You die too?"

"No," the Doctor replied.

"What's gonna save you?"

"Captain Adelaide Brooke," he tried to smile, but failed.

There was another round of silence before Adelaide whispered, "Damn you."

And the airlock unsealed…they could step out onto Martian land...but...they could still hear everything…

"Water!" Roman shouted, "We've got water!"

"Get back!" Mia called, "Get away! Get back! Captain! Don't touch it! Get away! Don't let it touch you!"

"Everyone, we're abandoning this section," Adelaide ordered, "Get to the shuttle. Yuri, lead the way. Section B corridor now!" a door opened and they could hear water pouring down, "Close it!"

"Yuri!" Steffi shouted, "Lock the door behind you! Did it touch you? Yuri! Did the water touch you?"

"I'm clean!" he gasped, "I'm dry!"

"Everyone, section B is out!" Adelaide tried to take charge, "Listen to me, take every pack that you can. We'll go around by Section F."

"Transferring oxygen stations to Section F," Steffi replied, "Mia, you take the red-line stocks."

"And hurry up!"

There was a crash and the sound of pouring water. Everyone began calling for Steffi…she must have been trapped.

The Doctor shut his eyes tightly, Evy grabbed his hand in her own as though she could anchor him there in that moment, that they had to leave _now_ , keep him from running back to the base to help like she knew he was fighting himself to do.

"Shut the door!" Roman shouted, "Close the door!"

There was a sound of a door shutting and then more shouts to Steffi, promising to come back for her, to get her out. She was really trapped now.

"Captain, it's inside!" Steffi screamed.

Evy winced.

More screaming for Steffi.

She tugged the Doctor's hand, pulling him out of the door and onto the Martian land, but they could still hear them all screaming inside the base.

"The exit panel's fused, Captain!" Roman called, "We can't open it."

Steffi screamed.

"We can't get through!" Yuri shouted.

"Don't, please, I can't move!" Steffi begged them.

The Doctor tensed as Evy bit her lip to hold in a sob as the sound of a little girl speaking German played over the comm., Steffi's daughter.

Steffi sobbed, replaying her daughter's voice, leaving Evy and the Doctor to listen to it as they tried to walk away.

"Steffi!" Adelaide shouted, "Can you hear me?"

They could hear Steffi convulsing.

"Oh, my God!" Mia gasped.

They walked on.

"Out, get out!" Adelaide ordered, "Ed, we're going round the long way. How're we doing?"

"All systems are live 100 percent, not a single delay," Ed replied, "Don't you worry, Captain, we are gonna fly!"

There were flares behind them as the shuttle fired up.

"We need air in Section F right now, all of you!" Adelaide ordered.

"Locking chamber three," Yuri said, "Locking chamber four."

"Gate five is open!" Roman called, "Gate six is open!"

"Roman, come on, with me!" Adelaide shouted.

Roman was silent for a moment before responding resignedly, "You better go."

"Don't just stand there, move!"

"You really better go without me," he half sobbed, "I'm sorry, Captain. One drop."

The Doctor shut his eyes in pain as Roman began convulsing, converting as well.

The crew shouted for Roman, screamed for him.

Evy squeezed the Doctor's hand as they continued to walk.

Mia and Yuri argued, Yuri trying to pull her away as Mia tried to run back to help Roman.

There was the sound of a door opening and a spray of water, and then Ed was over the comm..

"Captain, the shuttle is down," he groaned in pain.

Evy gasped, trying to hold back tears as she could hear in his voice...he was fighting the infection.

"What the hell do you mean?" Adelaide demanded.

"Compromised," he strained, "It was Maggie."

"Get out of there!"

Ed grunted, "Too late. They want this ship to get to Earth. Got no choice," a button was pushed, "Hated it, Adelaide! Oh, this bloody job! Never gave me a chance," he strained, "You never could forgive me," he gasped, "See you later."

A button was pushed and the shuttle exploded in a giant fireball. The ground shook. The blast threw the Time Lords forward onto the ground.

"We're losing oxygen!" Yuri shouted, "The hull is broken!"

It was too much. Evy let out a sob, curling in on herself as she listened to their screams. It tore her apart to not be able to help, but it _needed_ to happen, it _had_ to happen…that was all she could tell herself, even if it didn't help at all.

She gasped, looking over at the Doctor lying on his back, the both of them surrounded by flaming debris, she could feel a shift in his thoughts.

She watched as he slowly pushed himself to his feet and looked back at the base. His thoughts racing, everything he'd ever said about the Time Lords since the end of the war came back to him. How he was the last, how they were gone, how they _used_ to keep their eye on everything, and then…her own words about how he'd broken the laws…

He looked at the base, a cold determination in his eyes, before he glanced down at Evy, his gaze softening as he felt her pain, mirroring his, within him. He turned and began to head back to the base.

"Doctor!" she shouted, pushing herself up and running after him, seeing what he was going to do, "Doctor!" he kept walking, "Theta stop!" he paused and turned around, "You can't do this!" she shouted, desperately, "You _can't_ …please…"

He just smiled at her, walking forward and hugging her briefly, "Go back to the TARDIS," he whispered to her, "I'll make it better."

"No!" she yelled as he pulled away and began to run to the base, "Doctor!"

She couldn't go after him. She _couldn't_. She couldn't help him do this…it wasn't right. It went against their very nature, their entire being.

But she could feel it, the darkness that had been there in him since the war…it was consuming him…and there was _nothing_ she could do to stop it.

~8~

The Doctor ran back into the airlock, pulling off his helmet as he ran through the base and back to the main control chamber where the three remaining crew were cowering, grabbing a tube of some kind on the way, "Mia, take this sealant, fix that leak!" he tossed her the tube, "Yuri, open emergency oxygen. Adelaide…" he pulled her up, "Don't just sit there!" he looked around at the other two crewmembers running around, doing as he ordered, "That's better! The dome's still got integrity. Ten feet of steel combination, made in Liverpool, magnificent workmanship!"

"It can't be stopped!" Adelaide shouted, "Don't die with us! You still have Evy!"

He just grinned at her, shouting in triumph, "No, 'cos someone told me just recently, they said I was going to die. They said 'he will knock four times.' And I think I know what that means, and it doesn't mean right here, right now, 'cos I don't hear anyone knocking, do you?" and then there was a loud knock on the door behind them. He stumbled back, frightened, as a second and third knock resounded. He looked around to see Andy on the other side of the door and glared at him, "Three knocks is all you're getting!" he ran to the computer, flipping on a switch and sending a volt of electricity through the door, electrocuting the man before he could knock again, "Water and electricity, bad mix! Now then what else have we got?"

He looked around to see Mia anxious, Yuri happy, and Adelaide stunned.

"But there's no way to fight them!" Adelaide replied.

"Heat!" he shouted, "They use water, we can use heat! Works against the Ice Warriors, works against the flood. Ramp up the environment controls and steam them!"

Adelaide ran forward, trying to stop him, "But you said we _die_!" the room jolted violently, sending everyone almost to the ground, "For the future, for the human race!"

The Doctor just began to speak hurriedly, with such authority, as though just by speaking it would make it true, "Yes, but I was very recently reminded there are laws. There are laws of time. Once upon a time there were people in charge of those laws, but they _died_! They _all_ died!" he sounded almost hysterical with grief, rage, and the power of being able to do what he pleased, "Do you know who that leaves? ME! It's taken me all these years to realize the laws of time are _mine_! AND THEY WILL OBEY ME!"

~8~

Over in the TARDIS, a lone figure sat huddled against a Y-beam behind the console, flinching at the words echoing in her mind, covering her ears as though it could block the words…but he was too loud…she couldn't…

~8~

An explosion threw the Doctor to the floor. Alarms sounded and, as things began to fall around them, Adelaide ran to the computer.

"Environment controls are down," she read, "Sorry, Doctor, it looks like history's got other ideas!"

"I'm not beaten yet!" he cried desperately, "I'll go outside! Thermic heat regulator!" he picked up his helmet, only to see that it was broken and threw it away in fury, "Not beaten, not beaten! You've got spacesuits. In the next section!" he ducked down a hallway, only to see it pouring water and ran back to the room, "We're not just fighting the flood!" he shouted, angry and desperate, "We're fighting time itself, and I'm gonna _win_!"

' _Evy!_ ' he called, he needed her to bring the TARDIS there, but there was no reply, ' _Evy!_ '

Silence.

"Something is happening to the glacier!" Yuri cried, typing at a computer.

"Think, think, think, think, what have we got?" he rubbed his head, Evy wasn't responding…he needed another plan, "Not enough oxygen," he opened a container, "Protein packs , useless! Glacier, glacier mints, minty, monty, molto bene, bonny, bish, bash…argh! Look, look, look at the room! Section H, what's in Section H?" no one answered, "Anyone?"

"Nothing, it is just storage!"

"Storing what?"

"I don't know, the weather spikes, the robot, atom clamps…"

The Doctor opened a cupboard, "Atom clamps? Atom clamps! Who needs atom clamps? I have a funny robot!" he tore off the cupboard, revealing Gadget.

"Gadget-gadget."

He grabbed his key to the TARDIS and fixed it to Gadget's hand, "You take that, good boy!"

"Gadget-gadget."

He put on the auto-gloves and prepared to activate Gadget even as the room crumbled around them, "Off we go then!"

"Gadget-gadget."

Adelaide rolled her eyes as Gadget began to move, and turned to the computer, preparing Action Five. Gadget trundled slowly through the water.

"Come on, come on!" the Doctor waved his arms.

"Implementing Captain's Protocol," the computer announced.

The Doctor whirled around to see Adelaide standing there, "Adelaide! What are you doing?"

"Action Five?" Mia gasped.

"If I have to fight you as well, then I will!"

"Nuclear device now active and primed," the computer announced.

Mia and Yuri looked around, terrified, as the countdown from 100 began. The Doctor used the sonic on Gadget's computer, sending the bot racing outside, "Blast off!" the fire appeared from Gadget's tracks, but the Doctor was still frustrated, watching it on the monitor, "Faster!"

Gadget flew across the ground, leaving a trail of fire and dust.

There was an explosion, throwing Adelaide to the ground.

~8~

Evy looked up, startled, as something thumped against the side of the TARDIS.

~8~

"Nuclear device entering final process," the computer announced.

Yuri put out a fire on the ceiling as the Doctor used the gloves to open the TARDIS.

45 seconds left.

"And we're in!" he shouted as Adelaide watched, shaking her head at him as he looked down at her with a manic grin.

~8~

Evy's eyes widened in horror as she saw Gadget enter the TARDIS and make its way over to the controls. She had been planning to use the Doctor's Shifter and pull him back into the TARDIS, but he would see her now and probably pull it off…and if she kept the robot from getting the TARDIS to the base…the Doctor would die within it…

She backed away.

"Gadget-gadget."

Gadget rolled over to the console, pressing a button as the TARDIS roared to life.

24 seconds left.

The TARDIS rumbled as it dematerialized and reappeared in the base.

~8~

8 seconds left.

The Doctor watched, proud, as the TARDIS solidified, everyone else looking on in awe before he pushed them inside, running to the console.

0 seconds...

The base blew up as the TARDIS took off, Adelaide running to Evy's side as she saw the woman cowering against the back wall.

The Doctor seemed to take no notice of anyone else as he hopped out of his suit, while piloting with one hand, getting the TARDIS to appear back on Earth, on a snow covered street. He grinned and laughed, running to the door and opening it, ushering them all to head out. Adelaide tried to get Evy to stand, but the woman waved her off, working on getting out of her suit instead.

The Doctor tossed his suit aside, stepping out onto the snow and turning to watch as Adelaide walked out of the TARDIS, followed by Mia, who nearly ran from the box in terror, while Yuri slipped out last.

"Isn't anyone going to thank me?" he asked as Gadget rolled out and shut down, "He's lost his signal. Doesn't know where he is."

"That's my house," Adelaide gasped, seeing her house only a few feet away.

"Don't you get it?" he asked them, frustrated, "This is the 21st of November, 2059. Same day, on Earth. And it's snowing!" he twirled around happily, "I love snow."

"What is that thing?" Mia gasped, pointing at the TARDIS, "It's…bigger…I mean…bigger on the inside…" she turned her horrified eyes on the Doctor, "Who the hell are you?"

She stared at them a moment before running off, Yuri stepped forward to go after her but stopped and looked back at Adelaide.

"Look after her," Adelaide told him.

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded, taking off after her.

There was a small creak as Evy stepped out of the TARDIS, breathing hard, her eyes red with tears.

"You saved us?" Adelaide asked, looking at the Doctor who was looking at her expectantly.

He grinned and strode towards her, nearly strutting, "Just think though. Your daughter and your daughter's daughter, you can see them again," he smiled as Adelaide shook her head, "Family reunion," he turned and soniced her front door, opening it.

"But I'm supposed to be dead," she glared at him.

He shook his head, still smug, Evy felt nearly sick as watching him…that look…it was the same one the Master wore.

"Not anymore," he replied.

Adelaide struggled to get her words out, "But, Susie, my granddaughter, the person she's supposed to become might never exist now."

The Doctor sighed, "Nah. Captain Adelaide can inspire her face-to-face. Different details, but the story's the same."

Evy closed her eyes, shaking, she could already feel the timelines changing and when they snapped into place…it wouldn't be good.

"You can't know that!" Adelaide shouted, "And if my family changes…the whole of history could change!" the Doctor's smirk fell from his face, "The future of the human race, no one should have that much power!"

The Doctor blinked. Those were the same words Evy had often said about their responsibilities as Time Lords.

"Tough," he replied grimly.

Adelaide took several steps back, shocked at him, afraid _of_ him, "You should have left us there."

"Adelaide, I've done this sort of thing before," he tried to justify himself, "In small ways, saved some little people. But never someone as important as you. Ooh, I'm _good_."

"Little people?" she nearly spat, "What, like Mia and Yuri?" and now she was angry, "Who decides they're so unimportant, you?"

The Doctor glared at her, getting angry now, "For a long time now, I thought I was just a survivor, but I'm not. I'm the winner. That's who I am. Time Lord Victorious."

That was enough, Evy had had _enough_.

Adelaide looked over at her, "Can't you stop him?"

The Doctor actually snorted at that. It wasn't that Evy couldn't stop him, it was that she wouldn't. The only way he'd stop now was if she killed him, and she could no sooner do that than destroy the Universe.

But Evy was fuming. She strode forward, a glare that could freeze Mars over again on her face, "Do you have _any_ idea what you have _done_? How many _laws_ you have _broken_?"

He just smirked, "We're the last Eves, there's no one to enforce them."

"That doesn't give you the right to _break_ them! They were put in place for a _reason_! _Every single one_ was the result of a situation like this. Of a Time Lord overstepping their bounds, taking power that they weren't meant to wield! They were put in place so the consequences wouldn't happen!"

"The laws are for _me_ to decide now," he said stonily.

Evy's eyes filled with angry tears, "I _never_ thought I'd _ever_ see _you_ become as twisted as my brother!"

He stepped back as though he'd been slapped.

"This is wrong," Adelaide breathed heavily, running past the Doctor and into her home, "I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is _wrong_!" she slammed the door behind her, leaving the Doctor stunned.

Moments later Evy collapsed against the side of the TARDIS as a shot rang out from Adelaide's house.

"Evy!" he shouted, running to her side as she grabbed her head in pain, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I'm one of the inspired!" she ground out, gasping.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he recalled from her memories that she was meant for the Temples…she was highly inspired…which meant…changes to the timeline, extreme changes, affected her on a higher level. While an average Time Lord would, at most, sense the change and be aware of the different details, the inspired could almost physically _feel_ them changing. It was said to feel like knives stabbing the mind…and it looked it.

He gasped as he saw time change, Adelaide being found on Earth, dying here instead of on Mars, Yuri and Mia telling the story of how she'd saved them, how Adelaide's granddaughter Susie would still go on to be the first light speed pilot...

Evy gasped, pushing herself off the snow, out of his arms, and rushing into the TARDIS. She ran to the controls just as the Doctor hesitantly walked into the room, her thoughts were completely blocked. He watched as she ran around the base of the console, pulling open a panel and pulling something out which she strapped to her wrist.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he breathed, a sense of dread filling him.

She looked up at him, glared at him really, holding something dangling on a chain in her hands…a Perception Filter…and given how much he _didn't_ want to look at it, one operating at full power.

"Fixing your mess," she spat, pulling the Filter on.

The effect was immediate.

A Filter, operating at full power and designed for a Time Lord mind, was almost like a forceful dissection of the Link. It was like he was cut off from her. His mind couldn't, wouldn't, be able to notice her, sense her essence, her mind, her feelings…everything, ever sense of her was cut off...everything but a faint buzz of the Link in his hearts telling him she was just alive.

It hurt.

It hurt _so_ _much_.

"No!" he gasped, collapsing to the ground, hand clutching his hearts, "Evy! No, please!"

Evy barely gave him a passing look before she walked out and left him there.

~8~

The Doctor was curled next to the captain's chair, his arms wrapped around his the back of his head which was buried in his knees as he tried to breathe through the crushing pain, the weight of the absence of the majority of the Link. He didn't know how long Evy had been gone, it wouldn't matter, a second felt like eternity in this agony.

The door to the TARDIS opened but he couldn't look over…if she still looked at him with the anger...the _hatred_...she had before…he didn't know if he could handle it.

She stood there, eyeing him as he all but tried to fold in on himself on the floor before she couldn't bear to see him like that any longer, knowing the torture of the Filter and his solitude was punishment enough. She walked over to the captain's chair and sat down, sliding the Filter off as she went, tossing the crude Vortex Manipulator she'd made back on the console with it.

As soon as she sat down the Doctor moved and grabbed her legs, hugging them as he actually _cried_ , the full weight of everything crashing down on him. The laws he'd broken, how he'd tried to rewrite time, how he'd treated her as though she were _inferior_ to him…what had he _done_?

Evy ran a hand through his hair soothingly, "Time is back how it should be," she murmured, staring at the wall, "I took Adelaide's body to Torchwood, Jack's still there by the way," she rubbed her head, "I found Mia and Yuri, brought them to Torchwood as well. Jack said they'd give Adelaide a private burial, and he'd find work and new identity shimmers for Yuri and Mia…"

"I'm so sorry," he murmured, his face pressed into her side, "I'm so, _so_ sorry…I…"

"I know," she replied, eyes filled with tears again, "I _know_ how you felt, I've wanted to go back and change things too…but the laws were written for a _reason_ , by people more clever than us. And we need to _respect_ them."

"I know," he nodded, "Never again, I swear, never ever again."

"Good," she replied slowly before sliding off the chair and crouching before him. She lifted his face to look at her, smiling a bit at him as she stroked his cheek, "I love you Theta."

He closed his eyes, crying in relief at those words…he'd been so scared…

"I _always_ will, no matter what," she promised him.

"I love you too Luna," he whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion.

He opened his eyes…and stared at her in horror…

She frowned at the expression on his face before looking down to see that he'd noticed her dress was stained with blood. She sighed, "No one will be able to tell Adelaide was ever back on Earth…for all anyone knows, she died on Mars."

She'd cleaned up the blood for _him_ , he realized. She was covered in someone's _blood_ for _him_ …he really was a monster, to put his Link through that.

He broke down, sobbing, as she moved closer to him, hugging him tightly.

"I went too far," he cried.

"Yes you did," she wouldn't lie to him, "But you came _back_ …"

"You pulled me back."

She opened her mouth, about to speak more words of comfort, when the sound of an Ood song filtered over to her, "Do you hear that?"

She felt him stiffen in her arms.

"We should go," she said, getting up and heading to the console, "We can leave, now, and…"

"No…" he breathed, standing, wiping his eyes, she turned to face him, "I've gone too far...maybe...maybe this is my punishment."

He looked down, ashamed, but then felt Evy take his hands, "You're not facing it _alone_."

He smiled down at her a bit before taking a breath and walking towards the door with her. They stepped out to see Ood Sigma standing beneath a lamppost down the road.

"Is this it?" he asked the alien tearfully, "My death?"

Evy squeezed his hand as Ood Sigma merely tilted his head.

"Is it time?" he asked again.

Ood Sigma vanished.

Evy let out a breath of relief before turning and pulling the Doctor to her, hugging him tightly as he returned the embrace, feeling as though he'd dodged a bullet…

But then the cloister bell began to ring.

"No!" Evy shouted, running back into the TARDIS with him.

They glanced at each other before getting to work on the controls and taking off.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess now we know what River was talking about eh? It's a terrible method of punishing the Doctor, but I felt like here, he REALLY needed something shocking and drastic to get through to him. And Evy is not one to stand by and let him get away with things. She knows that some things can be stretched, worked around the rules, but others...well, she's already seen her brother corrupt by the power of being a Time Lord, she CAN'T lose the Doctor to it as well. I probably gave the Perception Filter more power than it should have in this series, but we've only really seen low-level Filters so I figured, one at full power, must have a VERY strong impact on the mind and senses it is altering. I've made it so that the Filters trick the mind, affect how it works and what it notices, so the one Evy used here made his own mind not see/notice/sense, her at all. Poor Doctor...
> 
> I will say this, if all goes to plan, we will see another HIGH level Perception Filter come into play in Series 6 of this story. But who will be wearing it, I won't say...
> 
> There was a line in this episode, when Ed says that Adelaide never forgave him. I always wondered what he meant by that, what did he do? No one seems to know. My thoughts are that, maybe, Ed was the one who recommended Adelaide for the mission. I felt like she didn't want to be separated from her family, that she hated Ed for that, but that, being there really was worth it, but that wouldn't make up for her missing important parts of her family's life, and she'd never forgive Ed for that. Just a thought. What do you think?
> 
> Next chapter...the Time Lords run into a Donna who remembers them. The Master learns something interesting. The reason for the rivalry between the Doctor and Master will be revealed.


	8. The End of Time (Part One)

The TARDIS appeared on the snowy landscape of the Ood Sphere. Ood Sigma stood there in the lightly falling snow a short distance away, watching as the door opened and the Doctor stepped out in his typical brown suit and coat, a bright pink lei around his neck, a pair of sunglasses on along with a straw cowboy hat. He held the door open for Evy who stepped through wearing her usual attire but as a brown dress, green leggings, and black boots along with her maroon frock coat. She was lacking the other party favors the Doctor had on, but she was smiling at him, happy she'd been able to do something to make him happy.

Ever since they'd seen Sigma outside Adelaide's home, she'd taken him to a number of trips to other planets and times in an effort to cheer him up, show him he was still the magnificent, good man that she fell in love with. It seemed to have worked, he seemed to have finally accepted that what he'd done on Mars had been a mistake, but one that he would _never_ make again.

"Ah, now, sorry, there you are!" the Doctor grinned, taking Evy's hand as he saw Sigma standing there, "So, where were we? I was summoned wasn't I? Ood in the snow calling to me?" he'd gotten a nonstop call in his mind since they'd last met Sigma, echoing into Evy's mind, "Well, we didn't just exactly come straight here, had a bit of fun you know…"

"Sorry," Evy grinned sheepishly, "My fault really."

The Doctor squeezed her hand, thankful she had. He really needed the escape, the thrills, the adventures she'd picked for him had helped him heal, "We travelled about, bit of this and that, got into trouble, you know me," he grinned down at her, "But it WAS brilliant," he looked back at Sigma, "We saw the Phosphorous Carousel of the great Mingelinga Stat, saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Maw, named a galaxy Alison…" he laughed brightly, "Got Jack drunk in the court of Queen Elizabeth…"

" _That_ was a mistake," Evy replied. Jack had been in a horrible slump…Ianto had died in the process of saving the planet from an alien threat, Jack had taken it _so_ hard. Evy had as well, when they'd gotten the call from Jack, immediately set the TARDIS to touch down in Torchwood and hugged Jack as they both cried, mourning the beloved man. They'd offered Jack a trip, knowing that sometimes you needed to get out there, see the life of the Universe to keep your spirits up, and Jack had thought a good old drinking game would do wonders…she'd warned him not to…

"Good Queen Bess," the Doctor laughed, "And let me tell you, her nickname is no longer..." Evy elbowed him, "Anyway…what do you want?"

"You should not have delayed," Sigma replied.

"Last time we were here, you said my song would be ending soon," the Doctor recalled, more serious than he'd been, "And I'm in _no_ hurry for that."

"You will come with me."

"Hold on, better lock the TARDIS," he fished in his pocket for the key and pulled it out, pointing it at the TARDIS and pressing it. The light on top flashed twice and a small beep like a car lock chirped, "You see, like a car. I…I locked it like a car."

Evy rolled her eyes and turned to the Ood, "He thinks it's funny."

"It _is_ funny," he countered, but they both looked at him, unimpressed, "No? Little bit?"

Evy patted his arm, "Hysterical," she said dryly, and then she looped her arm through his and pulled him off after Sigma who just turned and walked off.

"So how old are you now Ood Sigma?" the Doctor asked after a moment, just trying to make conversation as they walked on. But there was no response. However, he seemed not put off by that as his and Evy's attention was drawn to a massive sculpture of towers in rock, it reminded them quite a bit of the towers of Gallifrey, but black and white. There were figures of Ood walking around it.

"That's magnificent!" Evy breathed, eyes wide.

The Doctor elbowed Sigma gently, trying to get a response from him, "Oh come on, that is splendid. You've achieved all this in how long?"

"One hundred years," he replied.

Both Evy and the Doctor stiffened, concerned, as he turned to the Ood, "Then we've got a problem. 'Cos all this is way too fast, not just the city, I mean your ability to call me, reaching all the way back to the 21st century."

"Your species has been accelerated far beyond normal," Evy added.

"And the mind of the Ood is troubled," Sigma nodded.

"Why? What happened?"

"Every night," Sigma turned to them, "Every night we have bad dreams."

The Doctor frowned as Sigma turned and led them into the structure, walking past a variety of Ood in robes till they came to older Ood with a large brains sitting in front of pots and tubs, in a circle, in a darkened underground room.

"Returning, returning, returning," the elder Ood said in their minds, waving the fumes and smoke of incense up, "It is slowly returning, through the dark and the fire and the blood, always returning, returning to this world. It is returning. And he is returning. And they are returning. But too late. Too late. Far too late. He has come."

"Sit with the elder of the Ood and share the dreaming," Sigma motioned for them to join. The Doctor slipped off his lei, hat, and sunglasses and set them aside as he and Evy stepped forward and crossed to the circle. They looked around at the Ood before sitting down side-by-side in an empty space. The Doctor was uncomfortable while Evy was anxious.

"So…" the Doctor began, trying to mask his discomfort, "Right. Hello."

"You will join," all the Ood of the circle began to chant at them, "You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join."

The Ood placed their hindbrains into their laps and linked their hands, the Doctor watching cautiously before looking over at Evy, who could only shrug, before they too joined hands and took those offered to them. As soon as they connected, Evy gasped, seeing a flash of the Master laughing maniacally.

She pulled her hands back, breathing heavily, as she pressed her hands to her forehead as though she could force the image out of her mind.

"He comes to us," the Ood Elder stated, "Every night. I think all the peoples of the Universe dream of him now."

"That man is dead," the Doctor said seriously, his arm around Evy as he tried to comfort her from the pain of seeing her brother again.

"There is yet more. Join us."

The Ood linked hands, holding them out once more at the Doctor and Evy. Evy shook her head, tears in her eyes, "I can't," she whispered, she looked up at the Doctor desperation, "I don't want to see...not again..."

The Doctor reached out, taking her face in his hands as he looked deep into her eyes, trying to calm her, he could feel her fear radiating through him, "I'll be here," he promised her, stroking her cheek, "I swear, I'll be here with you…"

She searched his eyes and took a deep breath, grabbing the Ood's hand along with him.

"Events are taking shape," the Elder spoke, "So many years ago and yet changing the now. There is a man…"

They could see the Master laughing.

"So scared…"

And then there was Wilf, sitting at a table, his hands pressed against his mouth as he looked at nothing at all, worried and scared.

"Wilfred!" Evy gasped, "Is he alright?"

"What about Donna?" the Doctor asked, "Is she safe?"

"You should not have delayed," the Elder repeated, "For the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth. Even now, the king is in his counting house…"

There was a scene of a black man and a young black woman, his daughter, both looking very satisfied.

"We don't know them," Evy frowned at the image.

"And there is another," the Elder continued, "The most lonely of all. Lost and forgotten…"

And there was Lucy Saxon, sitting in a cell, lit by a blue light, wearing what seemed like pajamas, her hair pulled back from her face, breathing heavily.

"The Master's wife!" the Doctor exclaimed as they pulled out of the visions.

"We see so much, but understand little," Sigma sighed, "The woman in the cage, who is she?"

Evy bit her lip, not wanting to relive it, not wanting to even _talk_ about it, but knowing she had to, "She…she was…it wasn't her fault," she began, "She was…my sister-in-law. She married the Master…my brother…a Time Lord, like us…"

The Doctor looked around, seeing the Ood didn't understand, and turned to look at Evy meaningfully. She frowned, looking reluctant but nodded, he turned back to them, "We can show you."

They closed their eyes and pulled the Ood into their memories.

They could see the Master sliding around the room arrogantly.

"The Master took the name of Saxon," the Doctor told them, "He married a human, a woman called Lucy. And he corrupted her."

The Master released the Toclafane, ordering them to kill the American President, watching as Lucy celebrated the deaths with him, the Toclafane swarming upon the Earth.

"She stood, at his side, while he conquered the Earth," Evy said quietly, "We managed to reverse everything he did, as though it never happened. But Lucy was one of the few who remembered…"

She watched as Lucy shot at her brother, only for her to push him out of the way of the bullet, taking it instead. She could feel the Doctor squeeze her hand tightly at the memory.

"I held him in my arms as he died…" she swallowed hard as that vision played through.

"We burned his body!" the Doctor added, gripping Evy's hand even more tightly as he showed the scene of the funeral pyre, "The Master is dead!"

"And yet you did not see," the Elder replied.

They watched as the Doctor led Evy away from the pyre, finished singing her lament to her brother.

"What's that?" Evy gasped, frowning as the scene continued.

A hand picked up a ring that had fallen from the flames, the Master's signet ring. An older woman stood, looking down at the ring in her hands, cradling it.

Evy could feel anger bubble within her…how _dare_ that woman take it! It was a rite on Gallifrey, the heirlooms of the family passed onto the _family_ , that ring belonged to _her_! How _dare_ that woman take it!

"Part of him survived!" the Doctor said, horrified, snapping them out of the vision. He tried to get up, panicked, but the hands held him down, "We have to go!"

"But something more is happening, Doctor," the Elder said as the Doctor struggled to get him and Evy out, "The Master is part of a greater design," the Doctor looked over at Evy who was just looking more and more pained and frightened as the Ood continued. It was her brother, yes, he was coming back, yes, but that was _not_ a good thing by any stretch of the imagination, "Because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark."

Evy's grip on his hand tightened as the Ood looked up at them, their eyes red now. She could feel fear creeping into the Doctor as well.

"The Ood have gained this power to see through time," the Elder said, "Because time is bleeding. Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil. And these events from years ago threaten to destroy this future. And the present. And the past."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor demanded angrily.

He needed to get out of there, he needed to get Evy out. This was too much for her.

"This is what we have seen, Doctor. The darkness heralds only one thing. The end of time itself."

The Master appeared in their minds, laughing once more, as the Doctor managed to rip his hands away from the Ood and grab Evy. He pulled her up, the two of them running away from the circle and back to the TARDIS.

"Events that have happened are happening now," the Elder's voice whispered to them as they ran out of the structure.

They ran across the snow, the Doctor remotely unlocking the box as Evy threw herself inside, the Doctor slamming the door behind them. They ran to the console, rushing around it as it sparked, seeming to sense the danger. He pulled off his jacket, throwing it onto the captain's chair where Evy's already lay as they continued to run around and put in coordinates.

Evy ran to a monitor, gasping and holding her hand to her head as she heard a ghostly whisper in her mind...

_"Never dying, never dying…"_

"Evy?" the Doctor ran over, hearing the words through her mind but then there was an explosion from the console.

"I'm fine!" she shouted, the words fading as she ran to pull a lever down and the TARDIS jolted, materializing on Earth.

They ran out of the door, only to see themselves standing before the ruins of Broadfell Prison, where Lucy had been kept, with police tape around it. The Doctor looked down to see a singed sign lying on the ground with bricks and rubble on top of it.

"We were too late," Evy remarked, looking around before turning to the Doctor, fear in her eyes.

He walked over and hugged her to him as she shook.

He could feel her fear, sense her thoughts. In the Year-That-Never-Was, she had been exposed to just how cruel and twisted her brother had become, something she hadn't borne the brunt of back on Gallifrey. She loved her brother, he knew she did, but he also knew she was scared of him. The Master had actually succeeded in making her afraid of him. She was afraid of what he could do, what he _would_ do, what he was _willing_ to do…but more than that…he could feel she was terrified of what the Master would do to the Earth and to him, her Link. After all he'd already tortured him enough during that year without any regard for his sister and the partial Link she held.

"It'll be alright," he whispered, kissing the top of her head, "I promise, it'll all be alright."

She nodded into his chest before pulling away. He reached out and wiped the tears that had just started to fall. She looked up at him, "We better go find him," she swallowed hard.

He nodded, taking her hand and leading her back to the TARDIS.

~8~

Evy had worked at the monitor nonstop, trying to pinpoint the Master. Of the two of them, she had a better chance of locating him. She'd come close to an exact location twice but then he would disappear faster than possible…

"Found him!" Evy shouted.

The Doctor ran over to see a small blinking light near a construction area…it seemed like the Maser had stopped for something. It was the only chance they might have.

He grabbed her hand and ran out of the TARDIS, still parked by Broadfell, in the direction the TARDIS had locked on in. It was near enough and they didn't want to risk the Master finding the TARDIS sitting in the construction zone.

They made it to a sort of cliff overlooking a rubbish dump a few yards away from a construction camp. They closed their eyes and focused, breathing deep, as they sensed the faint lingering of Time Lord essence…but it was wavering, as though dying.

They opened their eyes just as an echo reached them, someone was banging on something, four times. They looked over at the sound for only an instant before they began to run towards it. The banging struck again, just a bit faster, and once more, very fast, before stopping.

They ran past a red oil drum that was dented, clearly the object that had been struck, only to stop short, seeing the Master standing on top of a hill of gravel a short distance away. He was wearing a black hoodie and pants with a red shirt beneath, his brown hair now blonde.

He faced them, staring them down for a moment before bellowing at them, an incoherent almost animalistic roar. He leapt high into the air, higher than humanly or Time Lordly possible, and disappeared on the other side of the gravel. They ran after him, nearly tripping down the gravel till they saw him once more, stopped a shorter distance away, standing on top of a pile of iron beams while they stood on the cement below.

He began to laugh, his face flickering to a skeleton and back.

Evy gasped, flinching at the sight, her eyes wide in horror. What had he done to himself?

"Please, let us help!" the Doctor shouted, sensing her concern.

The Master just looked at them mockingly.

"You're burning up your own life force!" Evy shouted at him.

The Master sneered at them before jumping off the pile and disappearing.

They ran after him, around a pile of rusty steel bars, only to run straight into Wilf and a group of elderly men and women.

"Oh, my gosh, Doctor, Evy, you're a sight for sore eyes!" Wilf cried, grabbing the Doctor's arm.

The Doctor pushed him off, "Hey, get away!"

He and Evy leapt onto a nearby pile of metal, trying to look for the Master but he was gone.

"Did we do it?" an elderly man asked, "Is that them?"

"Tall and thin," a woman replied, "Big brown coat. Red frock coat and black hair…I'd say."

The Doctor and Evy looked over their shoulders at the group of elderly staring at them before jumping down from the metal and staring back at them.

"The Silver Cloak!" another woman cried, "It worked! 'Cos Wilf phoned Nettie, who phoned June. And her sister lives opposite Broadfell, and she saw the police box. And her neighbor saw these two heading east!"

The Doctor and Evy stared at the group in confusion before turning to Wilf, "Wilfred?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah?" he smiled at them.

"Have you told them who we are? You promised us!"

"No. I just said you were a doctor and a mechanic, that's all. And might I say, sir, it is an honor to see you again."

He saluted them, Evy smiling at the look of annoyance on the Doctor's face. She elbowed him lightly and he reluctantly gave a little salute back.

"Oh, but you never said he was a looker!" the same woman who spoke before said admiringly, staring at the Doctor, "He's gorgeous!" she turned and handed her camera to another man, "Take a photo."

The man with the camera looked him up and down, "Not bad, eh?"

The Doctor looked very taken aback and very frightened, which Evy had to laugh at.

"And look at her!" one of the men exclaimed, eyeing Evy, whose turn it was to look startled.

"Gorgeous!" another man breathed, "A real looker she is."

The Doctor was so confused, he just kept looking between the woman who had latched onto his arm to the group to Evy to the men and back.

"I'm Minnie," the woman on his arm introduced, "Minnie the Menace. It's a long time since I had a photo with a handsome man."

The Doctor looked over at Evy for help, only to see an older gentleman on either side of her complimenting her, though she looked rather uncomfortable. And he knew she was, despite his best efforts at convincing her, she refused to believe she was truly anything spectacular to look at. But she really was beautiful.

"Just get off them!" Wilf cried as the group suddenly swarmed over the two, "Leave them alone!"

"Hush, you old misery!" Minnie hissed at Wilf before smiling up at the Doctor, "Come on, Doctor!" she patted his face, "Give us a smile!"

The Doctor looked over at Evy, both of them giving a pained smile as the group turned to the camera where Wilf was standing next to.

The camera clicked, "Hold on…" the man pushed the button again, "Did it flash?"

The Doctor glanced over to see Evy looking around, still worried about the Master being loose in the area.

"No, there's a blue light," Minnie said, "Try again."

"One more…I'm all fingers and thumbs…"

"We…we're really kind of busy, you know," the Doctor said, trying to be polite and get them out of there.

"Oh, it won't take a tick," Minnie reassured him, "Keep smiling!"

Evy's attention was brought right back by the Doctor's startled exclamation of, "Is that your _hand_ , Minnie?"

"Good boy!" Minnie smirked.

Evy stepped forward, having quite enough of this, pulling away from the men around her and grabbing the Doctor by his tie, pulling him away from the women as well.

"Thank you," Evy smiled tensely at them, "Lovely to meet you, but we need to go… _now_ ," she turned to glare a bit at Wilf before pulling the Doctor away, leaving Wilf to get control of his group.

~8~

How Wilf had managed to get them to agree to go on the bus with the crazed seniors, they would never know, but he had. They stood near the front, away from the rest of the passengers, just praying the ride would be over soon. Wilf hadn't brought them back to Broadfell, instead telling the driver to bring them to a little café in town.

"Come on then, here we are, hurry up!" Wilf shouted, ushering them out of the bus as soon as it stopped and waving back to the others, "Goodbye! Right, bye!"

Everyone on the bus waved at them, Minnie blowing a kiss to the Doctor who didn't even notice as he looked around, confused.

"Right, over 'ere," Wilf led them to the small café across the road.

"What's so special about this place?" the Doctor asked, eyeing it as they headed to it, "We've passed fifteen cafés on the way!"

Wilf just laughed, "Yeah, I know," he nodded at people walking out of it, "Afternoon!"

He led them over to a small table near the front window, taking a seat as the Doctor let Evy sit first before sitting next to her. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back as Evy sat there, her hand resting on his knee while Wilf leaned forward.

It was silent for a moment before Wilf spoke, "But we had some good times, didn't we though? I mean, all those ATMOS things and planets in the sky and me with that paint gun," he gestured shooting with a popping noise, chuckling a bit but the Doctor just looked anxious while Evy looked concerned, they both _really_ needed to find the Master before he could hurt anyone else. Wilf sighed, hesitating a moment, "I keep…seeing things. I…this face. At night."

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked him suddenly.

"I'm Wilfred Mott," he replied, confused.

Evy shook her head slightly, smiling reassuringly, "He means that people can wait hundreds of years to see him again but you managed it in only a few hours."

"Well, just lucky, I s'pose."

"No, we keep on meeting, Wilf," the Doctor sighed in thought as he stared at the man, "Over and over again. Like something's still connecting us."

"Well, what's so important about me?"

"Exactly," the Doctor replied, "Why you? Ow!" he jumped forward, rubbing the back of his head where Evy had just smacked him.

"You were being rude again," was all the explanation she gave to his questioning look.

The Doctor rubbed his head a bit more before looking outside at all the people just milling around, each of them so full of life. He placed his hand on Evy's on his lap, entwining their fingers as he turned to Wilf, "I'm going to die."

"Well, so am I, one day," Wilf replied.

"Don't you dare!" Evy said angrily, pointing a threatening finger at the two of them, "Either of you."

Wilf chuckled, "Alright, I'll try not to."

The Doctor just smiled at her and kissed her forehead. He swallowed hard, blinking back his tears as he turned to tell the older man the horrible truth, "But I was told…'He will knock four times.' That was a prophecy. Knock four times and then…"

Evy squeezed his hand.

"Yeah, but…I thought…" Wilf began hesitantly, "When I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body."

"It _is_ possible for us to die though," Evy sighed, tired, "You could kill us in the middle of our regeneration cycle. If it's never completed, then we just...die."

"Even then, even if we change, it _feels_ like dying," the Doctor continued, looking at Evy, "Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away…" his lower lip trembled as he imagined his Evy walking off with another man, even if it _was_ him. It wasn't fair. he'd only just gotten to Link to her, he hadn't had enough time with her as his Link, he'd wasted so much of the time he had before, "And I'm dead."

Evy could feel tears in her eyes as she sensed his thoughts. She would love him, _every_ incarnation of him…but she loved _each_ incarnation as well. She would love this one separately from all the others, as she did with all his previous forms. He would be different, but he would still be hers and she would be his. Just like if she changed, he would love her as well…but it didn't mean she wanted this version of him to die.

They looked back over at Wilf, who was strangely silent, to see him looking out the window.

"What?" he asked, turning to look as well, only to see Donna getting her keys out of her coat across the street.

"Donna!" Evy gasped, pushing the Doctor out of his seat and pulling him out the café, nearly getting them both run over by a car as they ran to Donna, "Donna!"

Donna jumped and turned around to see them running to her, stunned, "Evy! Doctor!" she opened her arms as Evy practically threw herself at her, hugging her tightly, before moving one arm and pulling the Doctor into it as well just as her granddad jogged over, "Oh my God! Look at you!" she pulled back and smiled at them, "Don't you ever change!" she laughed, seeing they were still wearing the same style outfits as always. They laughed with her, the Doctor's previous despair seemingly forgotten for now, having brightened at seeing their friend again, "What are you doing here?" she asked and the smile dimmed a bit.

"Donna?" someone said. They turned to see a young black man standing there with bags in his hands, "Who are they?"

"Shaun!" Donna shouted, running over to hug him, still excited from seeing them again.

Evy's eyes widened, "This is Shaun? _The_ Shaun? Shaun Temple?"

"Um, yes," Shaun nodded, "I'm sorry, and you are?"

Evy smiled widely and hugged the man, much to the Doctor's confusion, "Congratulations!" she squealed happily, pulling away.

"Congratulations?" the Doctor frowned, _very_ confused and a bit miffed at the display of affection.

"It's Shaun!" Evy turned to him, using that as the only, supposedly obvious, explanation, "Shaun Temple!"

"Yes, I gathered that," he nodded slowly, still not sure what that meant exactly.

"He's Donna's fiancé!" she laughed at his expression.

"Fiancé?" the Doctor's eyes widened.

"Getting married in the spring!" Donna grinned widely, so, _so_ happy.

"Another wedding?" Evy joked.

"Watch it," Donna pointed at her warningly.

"Hold on, you're not going to be called 'Noble-Temple' are you?" the Doctor asked her, appalled, "It sounds like a tourist spot! Ow!"

Evy had smacked him again.

"No," Donna just laughed at the action, "It's 'Temple-Noble.'"

The Doctor laughed, "There's our Donna!"

"I'm sorry," Shaun still stood there looking even more confused than the Doctor, "But really, who are you?"

"Oh," Donna jumped forward, leading Shaun over to them, "This is Evelyn Daniels…"

"Call her Evy if you value your brain cells," the Doctor grumbled, rubbing his head.

"And this is the Doctor," Donna finished, ignoring him.

Shaun's eyes widened, "The Evy? The Doctor?"

"You told him about us?" the Doctor nearly whined.

"Course I did," Donna replied, "Evy even got to talking to him a bit…"

"Threatened to throw me in a supernova if I hurt Donna," Shaun replied, eyeing Evy a bit warily. He wouldn't have thought it possible, but after hearing Donna's stories, and he trusted that they were true, he didn't doubt the woman would do just that.

The Doctor just looked at her in shock, "When did _this_ happen?" he asked her.

Evy rolled her eyes at him, "Well if you'd pick up a phone every once in a while…"

"Speaking of phones…" Shaun began, remembering what he'd come to tell Donna about, "Mum called, she'd like to give you your Christmas gift before her flight leaves..."

Donna nodded, "Right, we should probably be off," she turned back to the Time Lords, hugging the two of them quickly, "You two best stop off by the house before you leave, you hear me? I don't care if you've got the TARDIS or not, I'll hunt you down."

"Yes, ma'am," the Doctor replied, a bit pale.

Donna laughed, waving at them as she and Shaun got into the car and headed off.

The Doctor turned to Wilf, "So who's this Shaun?" he asked seriously, protective.

"He's sweet enough," Wilf smiled, watching them drive off, "He's a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat. But she's happy, she's got him…" he looked over at Evy and the Doctor, eyeing them as they watched Donna leave sadly, "And how about you? Who've you two got now?"

"No one," Evy turned to Wilf, "Just us."

The Doctor looked down, "I thought it was better…" he knew Evy would have been happy to take on another companion, but he…it had been too soon after losing Rose and Martha and Donna _and_ Sarah Jane all at once. Evy reached out and took his hand, leading them off to a quiet alley, seeing him on the verge of tears, "But I did some things…it went wrong. I need…"

He broke down just as they stepped into the alley, covering his face with his hands as Wilf looked on, distressed.

"Oh my word," Wilf gasped.

Evy reached forward and took the Doctor's face in her hands, leaning him down to rest her forehead against his, preparing to send him good thoughts, her eyes closed in concentration as his face was scrunched in agony. Wilf watched on, growing amazed as the Doctor's entire countenance began to relax, his facial expression weakening to sadness, to a weak smile, to a calm reassurance. Evy smiled, pulling away from him as he opened his eyes and pulled her into a hug.

"Everything alright?" Wilf asked after a moment.

The Doctor wiped his eyes on his sleeve and turned to Wilf, smiling.

Evy nodded, "He needs reminding from time to time, that _everyone_ makes mistakes and _no one_ is infallible, not even us Time Lords…" she smiled up at him, squeezing him around the middle, "He's just too stubborn and thickheaded to accept it right off the bat, needs nudging sometimes."

More like he needed forceful reminders of all the good he'd done that seriously outweighed the bad.

The Doctor kissed the top of her head, "What would I do without you?"

Wilf smiled warmly at them, just watching them interact. It was so different than when he'd seen them last time. During the whole ATMOS thing, they'd seemed almost at an in-between stage and after they'd brought Donna home he'd only glimpsed at what could be…but now…now they seemed _complete_.

"We have to go Wilf," she told him gently, pulling him from his thoughts, "There's something coming to Earth and we need to figure out what it is and how to stop it."

Wilf frowned, he'd only just found them!

"But will definitely be back," the Doctor smiled at the man, feeling much more confident in himself than he had moments ago, "We've got to stop round the house remember?"

Wilf laughed and nodded, patting the Doctor on the back as he and Evy walked past him. He watched them go, walking back through the alleys, heading for their blue spaceship.

~8~

Having managed to locate the Master once before, the TARDIS was now locked in on his location. They had watched the monitor closely as he moved, waiting till he stopped so they could pilot the TARDIS to his location.

It was nightfall when they walked through a darkened alley to see the Master crouched over, gnawing at a bone. As though sensing their arrival, he suddenly looked up at them. They slowly walked forward, eyeing the Master closely as he looked at his hands, now sparking and glowing. He reached out a hand, shooting a bolt of lightning at their right, but it hit the building behind them. They didn't flinch as they just kept walking.

Not one to be deterred, he fired another bolt to their left, hitting a barrel, but they didn't stop.

He rubbed his hands together, generating a greater force before shooting it straight at the Doctor…only for Evy to step in the way. She cried out in pain, staggering. He immediately pulled back, in horror at having stuck his sister…but also startled that the Doctor, too, seemed to be affected by the bolt. He fell to his knees, holding Evy as she fell to the ground.

He ran forward, taking Evy's face in his hands for only a moment when the Doctor pulled her back…and the look in his adversary's eyes…that was when he realized, the Doctor had completed the Link. He'd lost his trump card. He wanted to hurt the man in the worst possible way, before that would have meant to simply destroy the Earth…but now it would mean killing Evy…and he could never, _ever_ do that.

It was ironic, the one thing he'd wanted to happen for the longest time was now the one thing that had destroyed his plans. He had been ecstatic when he'd returned home one day on Gallifrey to learn that his sister had Linked to his best friend. Who else would he trust to take care of her, to treat her properly, to love her but the Doctor? He'd seen the sort of man the Doctor was, there truly was no one better for his sister. But then...then he'd learned that _only_ his sister had Linked, that the Doctor, the coward, had run off before he could complete the Link. Worse than that, the man had had the audacity to begin relations with another woman, conceive a child with said woman, and not his Link. It hadn't mattered that the Doctor had just lost the baby and its mother or that these relations had happened before the Link or even that the Doctor wasn't aware that the Link had even begun...he didn't care. In his mind, all that mattered was that his sister was suffering with a partial Link, to his best friend, who had chosen another woman and fled, leaving his sister alone.

He'd been _furious_!

He'd immediately left Gallifrey to follow after his one-time friend. He'd tracked the man down through time and space with the full intention of dragging him back, kicking and screaming, to Gallifrey and showing him what he'd done, getting him to finish the Link. That was, until he'd _seen_ the man. He'd been travelling around with _humans_! Simpering, simpleminded, dull, unimportant humans, while _his Link_ was _suffering_. And he'd been HAPPY! He'd been off having the time of his life while Luna had been left alone, connected to him, witnessing his joy and knowing she had no part in it. It had been the last straw. From then on, he'd wanted to break the Doctor, stop him, _destroy_ him only to the point where he could drag the man back to their planet, to Luna. He wanted to hurt him as Luna was hurting. He deserved it.

He had to be careful, knowing his sister could suffer if he went too far, and he admitted he often did. He'd even used her against the Doctor at times. When the Doctor disappeared and he had no clues to where he'd gone, he would go to Luna, argue with her, yell at her, trick her into getting so deep into a debate or fight that he could manipulate it, use his words to get her to let slip where the Doctor had gone. And he'd be off, the cycle of hunting and hurting him starting again. It wasn't right, he knew that, but he'd just wanted his sister to be happy, to have her Link.

And now she did, and he still wasn't happy. The Doctor, after doing all that to her, for so long, he wasn't worthy of Luna anymore. He didn't deserve her. He couldn't trust the Doctor not to hurt her again. And...he supposed...he didn't want to lose her to the man who hadn't been there for her like he had. She was his sister, his baby sister, and they were the only three left. He didn't want to lose her, not to the Doctor, not to anyone.

But he didn't want her hurt either.

He sunk backwards into a squat, watching guiltily as his sister panted for breath and fought the pain from his bolt, the Doctor holding her tightly, offering the comfort he could not.

"We had estates," he said quietly, looking at his sister in pain, not having meant to hurt her, "D'you remember father's land back home? Pastures of red grass, stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition…" he looked over at the Doctor, "We used to run across those fields all day. Calling up at the sky," he fell back, sitting on a mound of debris, eyeing the both of them, "Look at us now!"

"All that eloquence," the Doctor shook his head, "But how many people have you killed?"

"I am so hungry!"

"Your resurrection's gone wrong," Evy gasped, struggling to breathe, the Doctor's arms tightening around her, "That energy…it's ripped your body open. It's killing you."

"That's human Christmas, out there!" he ignored her, gesturing out wildly, "They eat so much! All that roasting meat. Cakes and red wine. Hot fat blood food. Pots and plates of meat and flesh and grease and juice and baking burnt sticky hot skin. Hot this, hot that, oh…"

' _I think I'm going to be sick,_ ' Evy shuddered, actually feeling bile rise in her throat.

"Stop it!" the Doctor glared at him.

"Sliced…sliced…" he muttered.

"Stop it!"

"It's mine, it's mine, it's mine, it's mine. Eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it."

"Stop it!"

Finally there was silence.

"We need your help," Evy told him weakly, finally able to breathe.

The Master just laughed at her, at the thought that she could still need him now that she had the Doctor. No one ever needed him once the Doctor arrived.

"There's more at work tonight than you and Evy and me," the Doctor told him.

"Oh, yeah?" he asked, mockingly.

"We were told," Evy winced as she managed to get herself in a sitting position, "Something is returning."

"And here I am!"

Evy shook her head, "No, it's something more."

"But it hurts!"

"We were told," the Doctor began, "The end of time."

"It hurts!" he whimpered, "Doctor, the noise! The noise in my head!" he tried to crawl over to them, looking at Evy but she couldn't hear it, for once she couldn't hear it. His ressurection must have gone more wrong than they thought if not even she could hear it. In fact, she hadn't been able to hear anything of him save the moment he returned, "One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four. Stronger than ever before," he looked at them, confused, "Can't you hear it?"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor just shook his head, apologetic.

"Can you?" he turned to Evy, but she just shook her head sadly, "Please!" he begged, crawling over to her, "Listen, listen, listen, listen. Every minute. Every second. Every beat of my hearts. There it is. Calling to me. Please, listen!"

"I know," Evy tried to soothe him, hating to see him in that much pain despite everything he'd done, she knew how painful the beating had been, whether it was a drumbeat or a heartbeat, it still hurt and they still didn't know what it was or why he heard it, "I know it hurts…it always hurt…"

The Doctor looked at the two of them, helpless. He knew Evy had heard the beating, he'd seen it in her memories, but neither of them could hear it now, "I can't hear it."

"Listen!" he growled, turning to the Doctor, grabbing his face and pressing their foreheads together, his eyes closed in concentration.

The Doctor pulled himself back, startled.

He'd heard it. The beating.

Evy winced, hearing the beating through him instead.

"What?" the Master asked.

"That's…" he gasped, breathless.

"What?!"

"We heard it," Evy said quietly as the Doctor pulled her back, staring at the Master in horror.

"But there's no noise," the Doctor called as the Master jumped to his feet, his mind racing as to why there was a noise, he'd thought it was just Evy imagining things, putting a sound to the claims of her brother, but there it was, a true beating sound, "There never has been. It's just your insanity! It's…what is it?" he breathed hard, "What's inside your head?"

The Master started to laugh hysterically, "It's real!" he shouted, starting to scream, "It's real. It's real!"

Bolts of power came from the Master's hands, propelling him up into the sky.

The Doctor twisted out from behind Evy and knelt to face her, "Stay here," he told her, "I'm going to find him."

But Evy grabbed his arm, "Not without me," she replied, using him to force herself up. He took her hand, helping her run as she struggled, still a bit in pain. They looked to the sky, trying to find the Master but he was nowhere in sight, but they could hear his laugh from a distance. They ran after it, stopping short to see him standing on a mound of dirt.

"All these years, you thought I was mad!" he threw his arms up in victory as he glared at the Doctor, "King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor. What is it? What is it? What is it?"

Before the Doctor could give an answer, a light suddenly illuminated the Master from above. They looked up to see a spotlight on him as another one snapped on the Doctor and Evy who stumbled back, trying to see past it. Ropes dropped down on either side of the Master, men in black outfits propelling down them, as he just laughed. They grabbed him, injecting something into his neck, making him go limp.

"No!" Evy shouted, reaching out towards him. She still had bad memories about injections and such.

She ran forward but stumbled, the Doctor pulled her up, the two of them running as men tried to shoot at them, just barely missing them. They watched in horror as the Master was carried back up by the men, past the lights.

"Let him go!" the Doctor shouted as they ran up the mound, trying to get back to him. One of the soldiers ran up, slamming the butt of his gun into the back of the Doctor's head, knocking him out, making Evy stumble before he too knocked her out as well, leaving the two fallen on the ground as the team headed out.

~8~

When they came to and found it was morning, they'd run back to the TARDIS and tried to track the Master down, only to find him in the Naismith estate. Having no idea who that was, they'd gone to ask the only people close enough who knew them and could help, the Nobles.

They set the TARDIS down, stepping out to look at the house, unwilling to disturb them so on the holidays. They saw Wilf peek out of a window and knew that they'd have to stay, they'd been seen. Moments later Wilf came running out of the house, the two of them going to greet him.

"We lost him," the Doctor told the old man, "We were knocked unconscious. He's still on Earth. We can sense him, but he's too far away."

"You can't park there!" Wilf exclaimed at the large blue box in the middle of the street.

"Wilf we need your help," Evy told him, "You're the only connection we can think of. You're involved somehow, we just need to work out how."

The Doctor suddenly lunged at Wilf, "Tell me, have you see anything. I don't know, anything strange, anything odd."

Wilf hesitated before speaking again, "Well, there was a…"

"What?" Evy frowned.

"What is it?" the Doctor shouted, "Tell us!"

' _Doctor, calm down,_ ' Evy called to him, putting a hand on his arm, ' _You're making him anxious._ '

"Well, it was…no, it's nothing," he sighed.

"Think, think, think," the Doctor said, calmer, but still desperate, "Maybe…maybe something out of the blue, something connected to your life. Something!"

"Well, Donna was a bit strange. She had a funny little moment this morning, all because of that book."

"What book?" Evy asked.

Wilf held up a hand for a moment and ran into the house, pausing by the door to motion them to head around back. They went to the backdoor, standing off to the side till Wilf stepped out to join them, holding a book 'Fighting the Future' in his hands.

"Right, his name's Joshua Naismith," he handed them the book.

"That's him!" Evy gasped, eyeing the cover, "The man we saw in the Ood vision," she let out a little laugh, "Donna must have picked up on it through the meta-crisis connection!"

"That a girl Donna!" the Doctor grinned.

"The what vision?" Wilf frowned.

"The Ood," Evy repeated.

"What's the Ood?"

"Oh, just the Ood," the Doctor replied, "It's all part of the convergence," he laughed, "The Doctor-Donna."

"Dad, what are you up to?" Silvia asked, coming outside. She turned to see the Doctor and Evy standing there, with Wilf looking very guilty.

The Doctor tensed, taking Evy's hand, ready for a very unpleasant greeting…

Which was why he was so stunned when Silvia ran over and hugged Evy, "Hello!" she pulled back, actually smiling, and nodded at the Doctor.

The Doctor blinked, "What?"

Evy just laughed, "I've not just taken to talking to Shaun you know, there are more people in Donna's family than just him and Wilf."

"What?" he turned to stare at Evy in shock.

Sylvia nodded, "She sent me a lovely little gift for my birthday, figured she can't be that bad, even if she travels with _you_."

"What?" he half shouted.

Evy just shook her head and turned to Silvia, "Ignore him, sometimes he's a bit of an idiot."

"So you've mentioned," Sylvia nodded.

"What?" the Doctor said again.

Evy turned to him and blinked at how many times he'd said 'what,' "That's a record I think."

The Doctor shook his head, "You got her a gift…and suddenly you're friends?"

"It was a lovely little tea set," Sylvia smiled fondly before shaking herself from her thoughts, "Did you want to talk to Donna? She's just inside…"

She turned to get her but Evy reached out and pulled her back, "No, she can't know we're here."

"Why?" she frowned.

"We may be going on some sort of adventure soon…" the Doctor began, "We don't want her to try and tag along, it'll…it'll definitely be an _exciting_ one to say the least…"

Sylvia nodded as Donna called from inside, "Mum, where are those tweezers?"

"Go!" she hissed, ushering them away.

"We're going," the Doctor took Evy's hand and pulled her around the house.

"Yeah, me too!" Wilf shouted, running after them.

"Dad!" Sylvia called, but Donna's voice yelled out for her again and she had to go back inside.

"You can't come with us," the Doctor said as they ran back to the TARDIS.

"Well, you're not leaving me with them!" Wilf argued back, "I'll never hear the end of it if Donna finds out you came and went!"

"He's got a point," Evy winced, imagining it, as the Doctor opened the TARDIS and she pushed Wilf in, shutting the door behind them. The Doctor flipped a lever and the TARDIS was off.

"Naismith," Evy called, walking forward with the book, "Naismith Manor, that's where the Master is…" she looked over to see Wilf looking around, stunned, "Are you alright?"

The Doctor looked up at him, nodding his head, "Ah. Right. Yes. Bigger on the inside. D'you like it?"

"I thought it'd be cleaner," he remarked, looking around.

"Cleaner?" the Doctor asked, indignant, before pointing at him in annoyance, "We can take you back home right now."

Wilf just shook his head and looked at them working at the console, "If this is a time machine, that man you're chasing, why can't you just pop back to yesterday and catch him?"

"We can't go back inside our own timeline," the Doctor recited the age old law, looking up at Evy. He smiled at her and sent her a wink, she smiled softly back at him, it seemed he'd finally come to terms with what had happened on Mars, "We have to stay relative to the Master within the causal nexus. Understand?"

"Not a word."

"Welcome aboard," Evy just laughed, giving him a sideways hug as he walked up.

"Thank you."

They piloted the TARDIS to materialize in a barn, immediately sensing the Master's presence the moment they stepped out.

"We've moved!" Wilf exclaimed, "We've really moved!"

"You should stay here," Evy told him gently, unwilling for him to become a pawn in the Master's game.

"No, not bloody likely!" he glared at them.

"And don't swear!" the Doctor scolded, "Hold on!" he pointed his key at the TARDIS, making it vanish, not wanting a repeat of the last time the TARDIS was just lying around while the Master was there.

"It's hidden a second out of sync," Evy told Wilf.

"Don't want the Master finding the TARDIS," the Doctor agreed, "That's the last thing we need!"

They ran through the barn and outside, passing an archway. Evy pulled the Doctor back just as two guards walked by.

"That book said he's a billionaire," Wilf told them, "He's got his own private army!"

Evy glanced around the corner, through the archway, and then back at them, "Down there!"

She rushed forward, over to a small door in the side of the arch, sonicing it to open it with her sonic and disappearing inside followed by the Doctor and Wilf, who shut it just as the guards walked past again. They found themselves at the top of a set of stairs that lead to the basement level and walked down them. The Doctor looked around, holding a finger to his lips to keep them quiet as he listened, they could just faintly hear someone speaking from down the hall.

"Miss Addams, we're getting some encouraging results from the ratio fold back," they heard someone say over a comm. as they crept towards the room, "Can you confirm?"

They peered in to see a blonde woman in a black outfit with a white lab coat on, smiling as she read some results.

' _Shimmer,_ ' Evy remarked to the Doctor, seeing the faint hints of the technology at work, the Doctor nodded, pulling out his sonic.

"The man's a miracle," Addams replied, "All the systems are slotting back into place. Shatterthreads have harmonized. The fiber links have densified. The multiple overshots have triplicated."

"Nice game!" the Doctor shouted, poking his head around the doorframe with Evy.

"Hello!" Wilf peered around from the other side.

"Don't call security," Evy warned as they walked in, "Or we'll tell them you've got a shimmer on."

"'Cos we reckon anyone wearing a shimmer doesn't want the shimmer to be noticed or they wouldn't need a shimmer in the first place," the Doctor agreed.

"I'm sorry, what's a 'shimmer?'" she asked, tying to sound innocent.

The Doctor grinned and pointed his sonic at her, "Shimmer!"

Her image wavered, turning her into a green alien with spikes sticking out of her face where her hair should be. She actually reminded them of a tall, green Bannakaffalatta.

"Oh!" she grumbled, crossing her arms at being caught.

"Oh, my Lord, she's a cactus!" Wilf pointed at her as she glared.

"Miss Addams?" the voice called again, "Miss Addams!"

But Addams couldn't move as the Doctor and Evy had entered the room and begun to look at the readings themselves.

"He's got it working," Evy called.

"But what is it?" the Doctor asked, going over to the computer she was at, "What's working?"

Just then a rather tall man ran into the room, wearing a black outfit with a white lab coat as well, "What are you doing here?"

Evy pointed her sonic at the man, not taking her eyes off the screen, typing with one hand, as she flashed him, "Shimmer!"

The tall man, too, turned into a green, cactus-like alien as Addams peered around Wilf at him.

"Now, quickly, tell us, what's going on," the Doctor turned to him as the alien shook his head, "Harold Saxon. Skeletor. Whatever you're calling him. What's he doing up there?"

He just looked over at Evy, still typing away, checking the files, "But I checked the readings. He's done good work. It's operational."

"Sorry, and you are..." Evy glanced at him.

"Because we've met someone like you," the Doctor added.

"He was brilliant," Evy smiled, "Saved our lives."

"But he was little and red."

"No, that's a Zocci," Adams said angrily, almost offended.

"We're not Zocci, we're Vinvocci!" the other man agreed, "Completely different."

The Doctor just shrugged.

"And the Gate is Hipocci," Addams sighed, "We're a salvage team! We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it. And as soon as it's working, we transport it to the ship."

"But what does it _do_?" the Doctor demanded.

"Well it mends," the other alien said, "It's as simple as that. It's a medical device to repair the body. It makes people better."

Evy shook her head slowly, "No. There's more to it than that, there has to be. Because the Master wouldn't stop at simple, he'd aim for colossal."

"So that thing's like a sickbed, yeah?" Wilf pointed at the machine.

"More or less…" Addams shrugged.

"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"

The Doctor looked at him, impressed, "Oh, good question! Why _is_ it so big?"

"It doesn't just mend one person at a time," Addams called, fed up.

The other one laughed, "That would be ridiculous."

"It mends whole planets."

"It does _what_?" Evy asked, in horror, the Master's plan unfolding in her mind, the Doctor blinked, seeing it work itself out and pass on to him.

"It transmits the medical template across the entire population."

The Doctor and Evy shared a single glance before taking off out of the room. They ran up as many stairs as they could, following the sense of the Master till they burst into a control room where the gate-like machine was set up, "Close the Gate up right now!" the Doctor shouted.

"At arms!" Joshua ordered.

The Doctor grabbed Evy and pulled her behind him, holding up his hands, "No, no, no, no, no, no. Wwhatever you do, just don't let him near that device."

"Oh, like _that_ was ever gonna happen!" the Master mocked before using his powers to fling off the straightjacket and collar he'd been forced into. He leapt into the air and landed in the Gate with a loud roar.

Evy and the Doctor stared at him in horror, knowing what he was about to do.

"Homeless, was I?" he shouted, even more mocking, "Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now!"

"Deactivate it!" Evy shouted, "Everyone! Turn it off!"

But it was too late, the Gate had begun transmitting. Everyone, save the Doctor and Evy, began shaking their heads in pain as the Master laughed.

"He's…inside my head…" Joshua struggled.

They looked around the room, from person to person, watching as they struggled against the Master.

"Get out of there!" the Doctor ran for the Gate.

Evy pulled him back just before the Master could strike him with a bolt of power.

"Doctor!" Wilf called, stumbling into the room, "Evy! There's…there's this face."

They ran over to him, concerned, "What is it, what can you see?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, it's him!" Wilf pointed at the Master, "I can see him! I keep seeing his face."

"Something's wrong," a newsfeed came over the TV, "It seems to be affecting the President."

Evy looked back at the controls, running over to them, and looking around frantically, "I can't turn it off!" she called to the Doctor.

"That's because I locked it!" the Master nearly sneered at her.

The Doctor grabbed Wilf and dragged him to one of the secure rooms built of similar alien technology, "Wilfred! Get inside there now!" he unlocked the door and pushed Wilf in, letting the other man out. He ran to the other door and began to fiddle with the dials, "Just need to filter the levels…"

Wilf sighed in relief, "Oh, I can't see him now…he's gone!"

"Radiation shielding," Evy said, rushing over to the box, "Now press the button and let him out."

"Do what?"

"I can't get out until you press the button," the Doctor nodded at the button, "That button there!"

Wilf pressed it, letting the Doctor free.

"Fifty seconds and counting!" the Master shouted.

"To what?" the Doctor demanded.

He just laughed, "Oh, you're gonna love this!"

The Doctor and Evy ran back to the controls, trying desperately to find some way to shut it all off. Wilf's phone rang, Evy looked up to see him pull out a gun first, her eyes widening at that, when he put it away and grabbed the phone, "Donna?"

Evy's hearts stopped for a moment, ' _Doctor, it's Donna!_ '

"Wait I minute, I mean, what about you?" Wilf asked quickly, "Can't you see anything?"

' _Doctor, Donna's mind is protected through its connection to mine,_ ' she looked up at him.

' _She's going to be trapped out there with them,_ ' he realized with horror.

"What is it, hypnotism?" the Doctor asked the Master, frantic to find out what Donna would have to be dealing with, "Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"

"Ooh, that's way too easy!" the Master laughed, "No, no, no. They're not gonna _think_ like me. They're gonna _become_ me!" he held out his arms, "And…zero!"

A brilliant light shot out of the machine, spreading through the room and across the entire planet.

"No…" Evy breathed, horrified, "He can't have!"

"What is it?" Wilf called.

Evy looked over and saw Wilf was holding his phone up, stunned, staring at the people shaking terribly. She ran forward, "Donna!" she shouted through the glass at the phone, "Run! You need to run!"

Everyone stopped shaking, now looking exactly like the Master.

"What is it?" Wilf demanded, glaring at the Master, "What have you done, you monster?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" the Master glanced at Wilf.

"Or to me?" each of his clones began to ask. Joshua, Abigail, the guards…

"Breaking news," the Master/news reporter announced, "I'm everyone. And everyone in the world is me!"

"I'm President," the Master/Obama said, "President of the United States. Look at me," people started cheering, all looking like the Master, "Oh, financial solution. Deleted!"

The Master stepped out of the Gate and walked over to the other versions of himself in the room, staring back at the Doctor and his sister standing by Wilf, "The human race has always been your favorites," he looked between them, both looking helpless, "But now there is no human race. There is only the Master race!"

He started laughing, all his copies laughing all over the world. Evy scrunched her face, holding her hand to her head, now hearing the echoes in her mind as it was amplified by all the Masters…

To be continued...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was believable, the reason for the rivalry between the Doctor and the Master. I don't think they ever really said in the show, so I thought why not make one up. We've seen that Evy really is the most important person to the Master, his baby sister, so I could see him being beyond angry that his best friend and her Link just up and left her alone, partially Linked. I could see him going after him, trying to bring him back but then seeing how 'happy' he was on his travels and wanting to hurt him for it while his sister suffered alone. And even after they Linked, he'd still feel that protectiveness, the Doctor will now never be good enough for his sister, and she's the only family he has left, we've seen him act like a child before, and children throw tantrums and don't like to share. And now that he knows the Link is complete, well, he's even more threatened and worried.
> 
> Next chapter...what will happen with Donna now that the Doctor never took precautions with her mind? Who is the second weeping woman? We've already seen Evy 'take the Doctor's place' to save him from danger/death/regeneration before, will she manage it once more?


	9. The End of Time (Part Two)

The Doctor and Evy had been overpowered by the sheer number of Masters in the room. They'd been surrounded and pulled away to an office where the Doctor had been strapped to a sort of wheeled chair, gag over his mouth, another strap holding his head back as well as his arms and legs, bound everywhere. Evy had been pulled to a simple chair, tied with ropes, her mouth unbound though her arms had been pulled behind her. She was in a similar state as Wilf, sitting on the other end of the room. Evy looked around, the Doctor was to her left, Wilf to her right and her brother standing across from her, leaning against a desk.

"Now then, I've got a planet to run," the Master grinned at the Doctor before turning look around at his duplicates, "Is everybody ready?"

"6,727,949,338 versions of us awaiting orders," the Master/Joshua replied.

The Master looked impressed with his own skills, smirking at the Doctor and Evy.

"This is Washington," the Master/President reported, "As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth's defenses."

"Unit H.Q. Geneva reporting," the Master/UNIT announced, grinning, "All under your command, sir."

"And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir!" the Master/Chinese General replied. The Master winked at Wilf who looked startled, "With over 2.5 million soldiers, sir! Present arms!"

A video of Masters in Chinese military uniforms came up, all standing in front of the Forbidden City, all presenting arms.

"Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship," the Master exclaimed, "Nothing to say?" he looked at the Doctor with mock concern, "Doctor? What's that?" he moved over to him as though worried, "Pardon? Sorry?"

"Leave him alone!" Evy called.

"You let him go, you swine!" Wilf shouted, angry.

The Master sighed, "Oh, your dad's still kicking up a fuss," he nodded over at Wilf.

"Yeah?" Wilf glared, defiant, "Well, I'd be proud if I was!"

The Master held a finger to his lips, "Hush now! Listen to your Master!" he glared at Wilf threateningly and turned away, when a phone rang. He stiffened, looking at the Doctor questioningly, only to notice he was staring at Wilf. He turned around to look at the old man, stunned, "But that's a mobile!"

Wilf chucked awkwardly, "Yeah, it's mine. Let me turn it off."

"No, no, no, no, no, no," he walked over to him, "I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me. And _I'm_ not phoning you, so who the hell is that?"

"Nobody, I tell you, it's nothing, it's probably one of them ring back calls," Wilf tried to persuade him as the man pawed through Wilf's coat.

"Ooh, look at this!" the Master held up a gun to show the Doctor, who looked startled, before turning to Wilf, "Good man!" he tossed the gun away and continued to go through Wilf's pockets, trying to find the phone. He whipped it out, staring down at the name, "'Donna.' Who's Donna?"

"Leave her alone," Evy hissed at him.

The Master just smirked at her and activated the phone, holding it up, "Gramps, don't hang up, you've gotta help me!" Donna's voice came over the line, tearful and terrified, "I ran out! Everyone was changing!"

"Who is she?" the Master asked quietly, "Why didn't she change?"

"Gramps, I can't hear you."

"Well, it was this thing that happened on one of their adventures," Wilf nodded at them, "The meta-crisis."

"Oh, he loves playing with Earth girls!" the Master glared at the Doctor disdainfully as the Doctor stared aback, anxious.

"Are you there?" Donna asked, "Can you still hear me?"

"Find her!" the Master ordered to the other hims, "Trace the call!"

"Trace the call!" the Master/Joshua called.

"Are you still there?" Donna gasped.

Evy scrunched her eyes closed, ' _Donna!_ ' she called, following the thin connection that had formed between her mind and Donna's from the meta-crisis.

"Can you hear me?" Donna wept.

' _Donna!_ ' she shouted, connecting, ' _Hang up the phone!_ '

The Master turned the phone to speaker and held it up to Wilf, "Say goodbye to the freak, granddad!"

Wilf opened his mouth to speak when…

"Evy?" Donna gasped, "Is that you? Where are you?"

The three men looked over to see Evy sitting with her head bowed, face scrunched in pain as she forced her brainwaves into a different pattern, ' _Donna, you need to get out of there!_ '

The Master glared at her, striding over, his hand raised to stop her. The Doctor's eyes widened as he struggled in his restraints, fearing the man might hit her, but then the Master curled his hand into a fist, lowering his arm…he wouldn't strike her, not again, never again.

"She's on Wessex Lane, Chiswick," the Master/Joshua called, "Everyone on Wessex Lane, red alert."

' _Donna you've got to run,_ ' she called urgently, ' _They're after you!_ '

"What do I do?" Donna shouted over the phone.

' _Run Donna!_ '

Donna gasped over the phone, "There's more of them! They're everywhere!"

' _Donna, I can help,_ _but I need access to your mind._ '

"What do I do?" Donna cried.

' _I can connect. I can use the meta-crisis connectino and work through you, I can save you. But you need to let me in!_ '

"Do it!" Donna shouted over the phone.

Evy reached out touching her mind to Donna's, sending a pulse through their connection. A pulse of golden energy flew out of Donna, knocking out not only her…but all the Masters who had surrounded her.

Evy slumped over in her seat, spent.

The Doctor jolted, wanting to go to her despite the Link telling him she was alright. He'd followed her plans in her mind, it was dangerous, it was risky, it could have killed both her and Donna…if it had been anyone _but_ Evy attempting it, he would have been afraid. But not her, she seemed to regularly do the impossible.

The Master jumped up and ran to Evy's side, taking her head in his hands, trying to see if she was alright, all he knew was that she was alive.

"What was that?" Wilf asked, eyeing the woman, concerned not only for her but for Donna who had gone silent over the phone.

The Master turned to glare at the Doctor, who just sat there obviously grinning, pride in his eyes as he looked at Evy. He strode over to his rival and yanked the gag off, "That's better!" the Doctor grinned, "Hello! But really, did you think Evy would leave our best friend without a defense mechanism?" he raised an eyebrow and stared at the Master, "She's _your_ sister, you should know by now she's _very_ good at backup plans."

The Master sneered at him. He _should_ have known, it seemed that ability hadn't changed despite her regenerations, even as a child she always had a way to get out of trouble, always taking into consideration things that could go wrong.

The Doctor nearly laughed, adding one final touch, "It was a _3-way_ meta-crisis," he nodded over at Evy as the Master's eyes widened, looking at his sister in concern.

"Doctor?" Wilf asked, "What happened?"

"She's alright. She's fine, they both are. Promise, Evy just put her to sleep for a bit."

"Tell me, where's your TARDIS?" the Master demanded softly.

"You could be so wonderful," the Doctor commented lightly.

"Where is it?"

The Doctor just shook his head, "You're a genius. Stone cold brilliant, you are. I swear, you really are! But you could be so much more…" he sighed, almost longing, for a better future for his one-time friend, for his Link's brother, "You can be beautiful with a mind like that. We can travel the stars. You, me, and Evy. It would be my honor. 'Cos you don't need to own the Universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing all of time and space...that's ownership enough."

The Master hesitated, swallowing hard, tempted, "Would it stop then? The noise in my head?"

"I can help. Evy and I, we can both help…oh the remarkable things we've done together…I don't doubt we could help."

He shook his head, eyes filled with tears, sounding almost scared now, "Don't know what I'd be without that noise."

"My brother again," Evy's voice called over to them. They looked over to see her awake, pale from the strain, but awake.

The Master smiled a bit at her, going over to stand by her, hesitating before he put a hand on her shoulder.

The Doctor looked at them, thoughtful, "I wonder what I'd be without you…" he looked at the Master, but they could both tell he meant Evy as well.

It was almost scary to think…if he'd never known the Master, he'd never have had half his adventures, he'd never have known his Link existed…Evy would have never met him…he never would have met Evy…and if he'd never met her...he shuddered to think about how cold, hard, and possibly monstrous he could be right now if he hadn't had Evy to ground him or pull him back, to save him all those times…

"Yeah," the Master nodded, sniffling.

"What does he mean?" Wilf asked after a moment, "What noise?"

The Master turned, walking slowly towards Wilf, none of the madness that had been present moments ago there, it was almost like he was Terrin again, "It began on Gallifrey…" he told the man, "As children. Not that you'd call it childhood!" he walked over to look out the window, the Doctor and Evy looking at each other wich concern, before he turned and sat on the desk, "More a life of duty," he glanced at Evy, knowing that, as one of the inspired, she was more attuned to the Vortex, more ruled by the laws of Gallifrey. He looked back at Wilf, "Eight years old. I was taken for initiation. To stare into the Untempered Schism."

"What does that mean?"

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality," the Doctor sighed, "You can see into the Time Vortex itself."

"And it hurts," Evy breathed, both Time Lords looked over at her sorrowfully for a moment, those who were inspired, their bodies and minds had to attune to the Vortex…it literally could twist their mind to merge with it…it hurt like hell.

The Master looked away, angry and bitter at how his family had had to suffer for the Vortex, for the traditions of their people. He had been driven mad, his sister had been in pain for weeks after seeing the Vortex…

"They took me there," the Master nearly spat, his thoughts turning dark again, "In the dark. We looked into time, old man. And I heard it. Calling to me. Drums. The never-ending drums," Evy didn't bother to tell him he'd claimed it was a heartbeat before he'd died…if what she'd heard echoing in the Doctor's head was anything to go by, it was a deafening drumbeat by now, so much worse than before, "Listen to it…" he looked over at Evy, who watched him sadly, to the Doctor, who eyed him with one eyebrow raised, "Listen!"

"Then let's find it," the Doctor said hopefully, "You and me and Evy."

"Except…" he began, realization lighting up his eyes, "Oh. Oh, wait a minute! Oh, yes! Oh, that's good!"

"What?" Evy asked, now very worried.

"What is?" the Doctor eyed him.

"The noise exists within my head," the Master grinned, "And now within six billion heads! Everyone on Earth can hear it! Imagine…oh! Oh, yes!" he began laughing as the two of them watched him, concerned about this bout of insanity. His face flashed to a blue skeletal figure before he sank to his knees.

"The Gate wasn't enough!" Evy cried, struggling in her seat, "You're dying!"

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die," he straightened up, something striking him, "But what did you say to me? Back in the wasteland? You said the end of time."

"We said something is returning," the Doctor said pleadingly, the slim hope of breaking through to him shining in his eyes, "We were shown a prophecy. That's why we need your help!"

The Master just pointed at himself, "What if _I'm_ part of it? Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away! From the end of time itself! And now it's been amplified six billion times! Triangulate all those signals! I could find its source! Oh, that's what your prophecy was…me!"

Evy frowned, watching him, sounding more utterly insane than he ever had before, even if he might have had a point. He was just so desperate…

"Where's the TARDIS?" the Master threatened again.

"Just stop," the Doctor begged, "Just think!"

"Kill him!" the Master ordered, pointing at Wilf.

A guard stepped forward, clicking the safety off his gun as he marched over to Wilf, the Master following the guard till he got to Wilf's side.

"I need that technology, Doctor!" the Master shouted, "Tell me where it is, or the old man is dead."

"Don't tell him!" Wilf shouted defiantly.

' _Doctor,_ ' Evy called to him quietly, ' _That guard…he's taller than the Master._ '

The Doctor eyed the guard critically as the Master shouted, "I'll kill him right now!"

Wilf tensed, staring at the Master, but the Doctor just smiled, seeing Evy was correct, oh he loved how she noticed these things, "Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that, after all this time, you're still bone dead stupid."

Evy barely managed to hide her snort, but not her smile.

The Master rolled his neck, staring at the Doctor, "Take aim."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can't see the obvious, can you?"

"Like what?" the Master sneered.

"If everyone is you, exactly like you," Evy replied, "Then why's that guard taller?"

The Master turned back sharply to look at the guard who just swung the rifle butt against him, knocking him out.

The guard pulled off his helmet to reveal the tall alien from before, "Oh my God, I hit him! I've never hit anyone in my life!"

The door to the room flew open as Addams ran in, "Well, come on!" she ran to Wilf's chair and pulled out a knife to cut the bonds, "We need to get out of here fast!"

The second alien ran over to Evy, snapping the ropes around her hands and running to the Doctor, leaving her to pull the rest of the ropes off.

"God bless the Cactuses," Wilf breathed.

"That's Cacti!" the Doctor called.

"That's racist!" the second alien replied, struggling with the bonds that held the Doctor.

"This prophecy of yours, Doctor," one of the Master's voices came over the video, "Where did it come from? Doctor?"

"Come on!" Addams shouted, pulling the last of Wilf's ropes off, "We've got to get out!"

"There's too many buckles and straps!" the other alien called, struggling as the Doctor did as well.

"Just…wheel him!"

"No!" the Doctor shouted as the other alien followed the orders, "No! No! Get me out! No! Don't! Don't!"

The aliens ignored him as they pushed him past the Master and also in front of the camera just as Evy got her ropes off.

"What's going on?" a Master on screen called, "Doctor!"

They rolled him out into the hall and down it, "Which way?" the other alien shouted.

"This way!" Addams strode ahead of them, leading the way.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor shouted, "The other way! Other way! Back to my TARDIS!"

"I know what I'm doing!"

"No, no, no, no. Just…just listen to me!"

And then they came to the stairs.

"Not the stairs," he mumbled, "Not the stairs!"

Addams ran down the stairs with the other alien pushing the Doctor down, Wilf bringing up the rear with Evy who couldn't push her way close enough to the Doctor to sonic him free.

"No!" he jolted in pain as he hit the stairs repeatedly, "Worst rescue ever!"

"Oh be quiet!" Evy shouted up to him, "At least it _is_ a rescue!"

"Just…just stop and listen to me!" the Doctor called as they reached the basement. They wheeled him into the lab just as the Master/guards rushed in on opposite sides, trapping them. They prepared to fire as the Master appeared, grinning.

"Gotcha!" he laughed.

"You think so?" Addams smirked, bringing up her watch and pressing it even as the Doctor protested.

They were transported up into the Vinvocci ship, the Doctor still strapped to the chair, bouncing and struggling to get himself free.

"Now get me out of this thing!" the Doctor shouted as Evy ran forward to the teleport controls, knowing it was far more important to disable them and keep the Master from following than freeing the Doctor at the moment.

"Don't say thanks, will you?" Addams asked, annoyed.

"The Master won't let us go!" Evy shouted back, flashing her sonic, trying to disable the controls.

"Just hurry up and get me out!" the Doctor yelled. Wilf looked around, completely stunned at the sight of the Earth out the window, "Come on!"

"Oh, my goodness me!" Wilf breathed, "We're in space!"

"Get me out!"

"Alright!" Addams rolled her eyes and moved to help her partner.

"Get a move on!" the bonds loosened and he pulled himself out.

"Almost…" Evy stepped back and flashing the sonic, sending off a shower of sparks within the controls.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor ran over to her, picking her up in a hug to spin her around a moment before turning back to the aliens, "Where's your flight deck?"

"But we're safe!" Addams shook her head, "We're a hundred thousand miles above the Earth!"

"That doesn't matter when every single missile on Earth is ready to fire at us!" Evy countered.

Addams's eyes widened in shock, not having thought of that, "Good point!" she ran off, leading them to the flight deck. Evy stopped short, turning back to grab Wilf and tug him out of the room.

"But we're in space!" he muttered weakly, pointing at the window.

"Yeah," Evy nodded.

Wilf chuckled and followed her out of the room, running along till they caught up with the Doctor and the aliens, running through the ship.

"We've got to close it down!" the Doctor shouted as they reached the control room.

The second alien ran to the computers, "No chance, mate. We're going home!"

"We're just a salvage team!" Addams argued, "Local politics has got nothing to with us. Not unless it's a carnival. The sooner we get back to Vinvocci space, the better."

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder at them, "We're _not_ leaving!" he aimed his sonic at the computer which exploded, sending the entire ship lurching backwards as the power died down with an electronic whine. The lights began to turn off rapidly along with the engines.

The Doctor put away his sonic, standing very still before putting his finger to his lips, "Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh."

Everyone looked around, tense, hoping that they wouldn't be discovered. A few moments later, when they were sure they were safe, the Doctor breathed a sigh of relief.

The second alien ran to the controls, flicking the switches, but the machine remained dead.

Addams looked out the window a moment before turning back to them all, "No sign of any missiles. No sign of anything! You've wrecked the place!"

"The engines are burned out," the other one called, "All we've got is auxiliary lights…" he turned them on, "Everything else is kaput. We can't move. We're stuck in orbit."

Addams turned to the Doctor and Evy, glaring at them, "Thanks to you. You _idiots_!"

Evy blinked as the woman stormed off and looked over at the Doctor, a bit amused, "Well that's a first…no one really calls _me_ the idiot."

Wilf stepped up to them, "Yeah, I know you two, though. I bet you've got a plan, haven't you?"

Evy smiled gently at the man, "Oh Wilf, there's never a plan with him."

He chuckled and turned to the Doctor, "But you've always got a trick up your sleeve! A nice little bit of the ol' 'Doctor flim-flam ha ha' sort of thing! Hey?" he frowned, seeing the Doctor's hopeless look, "Oh blimey."

"Well," Evy brushed her hands together, "Then it's my turn is it?" the men looked at her, confused, she just smiled, "I've yet to come across something you've broken that I couldn't fix."

He smiled at her, "What about that one toaster in 1969?"

She laughed, "You _obliterated_ that one, nothing left of it to fix but this…" she looked around, "I do love me a challenge," she walked over to the controls, kneeling down and sliding under them to get to work.

The Doctor just smiled after her, watching her, always lifting his spirits when he needed her to most. He laughed softly to himself before turning and getting to work on some wires by the navigation system in the center of the room.

Wilf looked around, seeing he wouldn't be of much use and decided he was going to walk around, finally explore an alien ship!

~8~

The two Time Lords had worked in easy silence for a while, both asking opinions of the other when they came to a tricky bit of work.

The Doctor sighed as he fiddled with various wires and cables, glancing at the Earth every so often as though to reassure himself that it was still there, when something caught his eye…

"Evy?" he called, standing up and walking over to the window.

"Yeah?" she popped her head up.

"Look…"

She frowned, seeing a streak in the sky as she moved around the system and over to his side, "What is it?"

"I don't know," he shook his head, "But I think we'd best get back to Earth, quickly."

She nodded and they both ran back to their self appointed stations, getting to work.

The door slid open only minutes later as Wilf hesitantly walked in, "Aye aye. Got this old tub mended?"

"Just trying to fix the heating," the Doctor replied, nodding over his shoulder, "Evy's doing all the hard stuff."

Wilf chuckled, sitting down near the Doctor but he could see Evy lying underneath the computer controls from there, "I've always dreamt of a view like that," he commented, waving at the window. They glanced over at Wilf, smiling a little as he celebrated where he was, "He he! I'm an astronaut!" he pointed down at the planet, "There's dawn over England, look! Brand new day…" he paused, his smile fading, "My wife's buried down there. I might never visit her again now," Wilf turned to them, "D'you think he changed them? In their graves?"

The Doctor looked away, regret in his voice, "I'm sorry."

Wilf shook his head, "No, not your fault."

"Isn't it?" he sighed.

But then he felt someone sit down beside him. He looked over to see Evy there, leaning against him, her head on his shoulder as she reached out and took his hand, "If you're going to do that…I'm going to say it's OUR fault you know," he opened his mouth to say something when she spoke again, "And don't bother arguing...women are always right. Eh Wilf?"

Wilf smiled fondly at the young woman, "That they are," he laughed, tears in his eyes, "Never once won an argument against my wife, not once," he looked back at the Earth, getting lost in his thoughts, "1948, I was over there. End of the mandate in Palestine. Private Mott. Skinny little idiot I was. Stood on this rooftop…" the Doctor pulled off his specs, a sad look on his face as the story brought up his own recollections of Gallifrey, of the war, but Evy just squeezed his hand again, "In the middle of a skirmish. Like a blizzard, all them bullets in the air. The world gone mad. Heh. Yeah, you don't wanna listen to an old man's tales, do you?"

"We're older than you," Evy told him.

"Get away," he waved them off.

"I'm 906," the Doctor told him, calmly, amused.

"What really though?" Wilf's eyes widened.

"I'm 882," Evy added.

"Eight hundr… _nine hundred_ years! We must look like insects to you."

"We think you look like giants," the Doctor replied, truth in his eyes. Humans really were the most incredible species.

Wilf reached into his pocket, pulling out his gun, holding it out to the Doctor, "Listen, I…I want you to have this. I kept it all this time, and I thought…"

The Doctor folded his arms, drawing back into Evy's warmth, shaking his head, "No."

"No but…if you take it, you could…"

"No," he said firmly.

Wilf lowered the gun and stared at it.

"I saw you with that in the mansion," Evy commented, understanding, "You had the chance to shoot the Master, but you didn't."

"Too scared, I s'pose," Wilf admitted, almost embarrassed.

" _That_ , Wilfred, is _nothing_ to be ashamed of."

The Doctor looked at Wilf seriously, "I'd be proud."

"Of what?" Wilf asked, confused.

"If you _were_ my dad," the Doctor answered, teary eyed.

Evy smiled softly at them, squeezing the Doctor's arm. She knew the Doctor's father on Gallifrey, he wasn't the most understanding, supportive father in the world. He was a rather rigid figure, a typical Time Lord, lived and breathed their laws. He always gave the impression he was embarrassed by the Doctor, by his adventures and disregard for the rules…if he could only see him now…see all the amazing things he'd done…

"Now come on," Wilf began as the Doctor and Evy smiled at him, "Don't start…" he pressed a finger to his mouth, thinking hard, "But you said…you were told 'he will knock four times' and then you die. Well, that's him, isn't it? The Master? The noise," he tapped his head, "In his head. The Master is gonna kill you."

Evy flinched at the thought of her brother killing her Link and the Doctor tightened his grip on her hand.

"Yeah," the Doctor sighed, almost accepting.

"Then kill him first," Wilf offered him the gun.

"That's how _he_ started," Evy whispered, voice thick with emotion.

Wilf lowered the gun, recalling that the Master was Evy's brother…how hard this situation must be on her…either her brother, half mad, would try to take over the world and kill a man she obviously loved, or her love would kill her brother…either way…she would lose.

"It's not like we're innocent," the Doctor began, holding onto Evy, "We've both taken lives," he swallowed hard, tears in his own, "But I got worse, I got clever…manipulated people into taking their _own_ …"

Evy reached out and hugged him, resting her head against the side of his face, reassuring him.

"Sometimes I think the Time Lord lives too long," he sighed, feeling the warmth and love radiating from Evy, soothing him. He looked at the gun and shook his head, "I can't, I just can't."

"If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?" Wilf asked, helpless.

"I don't know."

"Doctor, what happens?"

"The template would snap," Evy replied.

"What, they go back to being human?" Wilf looked at them as they nodded, "They're alive? And human? Then don't you dare!" he cried, suddenly furious and bitter, "Don't you _dare_ put _him_ before _them_! Now you take this. That's an order, Doctor. Take the gun. You take the gun and save your life," he held the gun out, pressing it into the Doctor's hand, tearfully, "And please don't die, you're the most wonderful man on Earth. I don't want you to die."

"Neither do I," Evy whispered softly, tears in her eyes as well, but she looked at the Doctor meaningfully, "Any part of you."

The Doctor looked at Evy sharply, seeing the understanding in her eyes. If he killed, if he took a life like that, a part of him would die, something that made him who he was would be destroyed. He looked back at Wilf, sympathy in his eyes, but pushed the gun away, "Never."

Wilf sobbed.

And then the Master's voice spoke through the ship.

"A star fell from the sky," he spoke. Wilf gasped in shock as Evy and the Doctor looked up, not very surprised to hear him, it was only a matter of time before the Master thought to broadcast on any and all frequencies, "Don't you want to know where from? Because now it makes _sense_. The whole of my life, my destiny. The star was a diamond. And the diamond is a Whitepoint Star!" the Doctor and Evy stiffened, disturbed and distressed by that little fact, "And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the Star is mine. I can increase the signal. And use it as a lifeline! D'you get it now? D'you see? Keep watching. This should be spectacular! Over and out."

The Doctor was breathing heavily, strain on his face, his eyes wide with fear while Evy just looked pale and stunned and terribly frightened as they both realize what the Master was planning.

"What's he on about?" Wilf stuttered, "What's he doing? What does that mean?!"

"The Whitepoint Star is only found on one planet," the Doctor swallowed hard, "Gallifrey! Which means…"

"It's the Time Lords," Evy gasped, "The _Time Lords_ are returning!"

"Well, I mean that's good, isn't it?" Wilf asked eagerly, "I mean, that's your people!"

The Doctor reached forward, grabbing the gun, his finger on the trigger, staring at it a moment before leaping to his feet. He slid the gun into his pocket, running for the door with Evy and through the ship to get back to the observation deck just as an echo sounded over the speakers, the four beats, very high-pitched.

"What's that?" Addams asked as the second alien ran for the computers.

"Coming from Earth," the alien told them, "It's on every single wavelength."

They turned to stare at the Earth, the Doctor and Evy breathing heavily, afraid. They waited only a moment more before the shock wore off and they began running back to the control room, trying desperately to fix everything.

"But you said your people were dead!" Wilf called, following them, "Past tense!"

"Yes but inside the Time War," Evy replied, "And the war was time-locked."

"Like sealed in a time bubble," the Doctor added, "It's not a bubble, but just think of a bubble. Nothing can get in or get out of the Time Lock. Don't you see, nothing can get in or get out..."

"Except what was already there," Evy breathed.

"The signal!" Wilf gasped, "Since he was a kid!"

"If they manage to follow the signal, to connect to it, then they can escape just before they die!"

"Well, then, big reunion!" Wilf smiled, "We'll have a party!"

"There will be no party!" the Doctor replied grimly.

Wilf frowned, confused, "But I've heard you talk about your people like they're wonderful!"

"That's how we've chosen to remember them," Evy shook her head, "The Time Lords of old."

"But then they went to war!" the Doctor grimaced, "An endless war! And it changed them. Right to the core. You've seen our enemies, Wilf. The Time Lords are more dangerous than any of them!"

"Time Lords?" Addams asked dismissively, "What Lords? Anyone want to explain?"

"Right, yes, you," he pointed at Addams, "This is a salvage ship, yes? You're trawling the asteroid field for junk?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It means you've got asteroid lasers!" Evy shouted as she ran over to a control she'd been working on.

"Yeah, but they're all frazzled," the second alien frowned.

"Not anymore!" she threw a switch and suddenly the doors that led to the lasers flew open.

"You there, what's your name?" the Doctor pointed at Addams again, "We're going to need you on navigation! And you…" he pointed at the second alien, "Get in the laser pod!"

The second alien moved but Addams just stood there. The Doctor lunged at Wilf as Evy worked on bringing up more power in the controls.

"Laser number two," the Doctor told him, "The old soldier's got one more battle."

Wilf tapped his arm and moved to get up, a faint hint of a smile on his face.

"This ship can't move," Addams rolled her eyes, "It's dead."

"Did I forget to mention?" the Doctor turned to her, grinning, "My Link is a genius!"

Evy flipped another switch, two massive ones. The lights turned on with a hum, the engines starting once again.

"But now they can see us!" Addams cried.

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor smiled at Evy who just winked back at him. He ran over to the steering controls, taking hold of it.

"This is my ship and you're not moving it! Step away from the wheel!"

"There's an old Earth saying, Captain," the Doctor countered, making no move to leave, "A phrase of great power and wisdom and consolation to the soul in times of need."

"What's that then?" she rolled her eyes.

"Allons-y!" he shouted, pulling back on the controls. The ship suddenly took off, throwing the aliens and Wilf back as it sped towards Earth, the Doctor fighting with the controls, "Come on!"

The windows glowed gold as they entered the atmosphere of the Earth.

"Look at what you've done!" Addams shouted, "You're…flipping mad!"

"You two, what'd I say?" the Doctor shouted back to Wilf and the alien, "Lasers!"

"What for?" the other alien asked.

"For the missiles!" Evy yelled. The second alien leapt forward and headed for the lasers, leading Wilf with him, "The five of us have to fight the entire planet!"

As though hearing her words, out of nowhere, a score of missiles was picked up on the monitors, "We've got incoming!" Addams shouted.

"You two, open fire!"

The Doctor turned the ship wildly to the right, avoiding the missiles as the two below fought to destroy them.

"Open fire!" she repeated.

"And there's more!" Addams called, "Sixteen of them! Oh! And another sixteen!"

"Then go to the rear gun lasers!" the Doctor yelled back at her. Addams ran from the room to follow the orders, "You two, open fire! Now!"

The lasers fired as the Doctor veered the ship from side-to-side, just managing to avoid the missiles, "No you don't!" he shouted, turning the ship upside down in a full circle as they flew.

"Fire!" Evy called again as two missiles crashed into each other just in front of them. The windows smashed, the glass flying into the room as the Doctor tried to protect himself behind the steering mechanism while Evy ducked behind the controls, "Lock the navigation!"

"On to what?" Addams replied, rushing back to it.

"England! Naismith mansion!"

The Doctor struggled to control the ship as it went speeding over the land, "Destination?" he called back.

"Fifty kliks and rising," Addams reported, "We've locked onto the house! We _are_ going to stop, though?" the Doctor didn't reply, "Doctor? We _are_ going to _stop_?"

"Doctor?" Wilf called, struggling back into the ship, "Doctor, you said you were gonna die!"

"He said what!"

"But is that all of us? I won't stop you, sir, but is this it?"

Evy pulled herself over to them as the Doctor didn't reply, his expression bitter and sad as he flew the shaking ship. Evy put a hand on Wilf's shoulder, "It's never you," she told him, "Not if we can help it," she smiled, pushing him back so she could stand beside the Doctor as he pushed the ship faster. She put her hands on his, him looking at her. A small smile made its way onto his face as she looked up at him. At the very last second she pulled the controls back with him, flying the ship right up.

Evy knelt on the floor, pulling up a covering from an exit, as the Doctor pulled out the gun. They looked up at Wilf for a long moment before Evy took the Doctor's hand and they jumped out of the ship. They fell through the air, crashing through a glass domed ceiling in the Naismith mansion, landing heavily on the floor between the Master and the newly resurrected Time Lords, a small group of five. There were two guards in the back, two weeping women before them, with President Rassilon himself standing before all.

The Doctor groaned as he landed on his stomach, Evy hissed in pain as she fell onto her back, her head hitting the floor hard.

The Master uncovered his face, looking stunned and disbelieving at the sight of the Doctor and his sister on the ground before him. He quickly turned to his duplicates, "Get her!"

Three Master/guards ran over and hauled Evy to her feet, ignoring her cries of pain from the sudden movement, pulling her back from the Doctor who was reaching weakly for her. They half dragged her across the room, pulling out a set of handcuffs and locking both her arms above her around a piece of equipment, keeping her tied there, away from the Doctor.

The Doctor winced in agony as he tried to reach for Evy again, only to drop from the effort. He took a breath, curling his fingers round the gun, trying to raise his arm at the Lord President of Gallifrey, but he couldn't hold his arm up, it fell down as he almost collapsed, gasping for breath.

He could feel Evy's pain radiating in him from the fall as he was sure his own had reached her, but so far, she was safe and alive and that was enough reassurance for him to get his bearings and gather his strength.

"My Lord Doctor," the President stepped forward, glaring at the Doctor scornfully, "My Lord Master," he smiled at the Master before his gaze hardened, landing on Evy, "My Lady Evelyn," he sneered, "We are gathered for the end."

The Doctor and Evy looked over at the President with agony and misery, helpless in their pain as the Master looked on, proud. The Doctor struggled to get up, his face cut and bleeding, his suit in tatters. He glanced back at Evy to see her just as bad as him, her beautiful face cut and her arms bruised from the fall, her dress torn, her knees scrapped, her lip bleeding. He turned back to the President, crying out desperately, "Listen to me! You can't!"

"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hand of our most infamous child!" the President replied, ignoring the Doctor.

"Oh, he's not _saving_ you!" Evy called, her voice hoarse from pain as her brother smirked, "Can't you see what he's doing?"

"Hey, no, hey!" the Master turned to point at her disapprovingly, no one was going to tell his surprise but him, "That's mine! Hush!" he held a finger to his lip to silence her before throwing his arms out wide as he turned to the President, "Look around you. I've transplanted myself into every single human being. Who wants a mongrel little species like them? Because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord," he sneered, "Oh, yes, Mr. President, sir! Standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're gonna look as me!"

The Doctor and Evy watched in silence as the President merely raised his left hand, cloaked in a gauntlet that started to glow. The smile vanished from the Master's face as the President opened his hand and released a glow of blue, all the humans began shaking their heads quickly as they had done when turning into the Master.

"No, don't!" the Master called, almost childishly, "No, no, no, stop it, no! No! No, no, no, don't!"

He glared at the President who watched him calmly as every human returned to normal. Evy winced as she twisted to move and look around the room at the humans now standing as themselves again.

"On your knees, mankind!" the President ordered.

Everyone obediently dropped to their knees in fear.

"That…that's fine, that's good, because you said 'salvation,'" the Master turned to the President, almost desperate, "I still saved you! Don't forget that!"

The room began to shake as the President grinned, "The approach begins!"

"The approach of what?" the Master frowned, looking over at the Doctor for answers.

"Something is returning, don't you _ever_ listen?" the Doctor shouted through clenched teeth, "That was the prophecy, not some _one_ , some _thing_!"

"What is it?"

"They're not _just_ bringing back our _people_ ," Evy shouted, furious with him, he looked sharply over at her, surprised at the level of her anger, "It's _Gallifrey_! They're restoring the planet!"

The Master's eyes widened at that bit of information.

The Earth shook.

Everyone in the room began to panic and run away as the President watched, a smile on his face. The Doctor pushed himself to his knees, still hunched on the floor in pain, as the Master fell to his own, though his face was alight with victory.

"Aha!" the Master laughed, " _I_ did this! _I_ get the credit! I'm on _your_ side!"

"Go on, get out of the way, get out of the way!" they heard Wilf call as he ran into the room. Someone began pounding on a wall, a scientist still trapped inside one side of the radiation booth.

"Let me out of here!" the scientist called, "Quick! Somebody, please!"

Wilf ran over to him, "Alright! I've got you, mate! I've got you!"

"Wilf, don't!" Evy shouted

"Don't!" the Doctor called.

But Wilf didn't listen, he stepped into the box, hitting the release button, locking himself in as the scientist fled the room. The Doctor dropped his head helplessly, almost in tears, Wilf was trapped.

The room began to shake even more violently as the Master turned to the President, watching Gallifrey appear through the broken glass ceiling, "But this is fantastic, isn't it?" he asked, as though trying to be positive, but both the Doctor and Evy could sense the fear behind his words. He looked down at the Doctor who glared at him, "The Time Lords restored!"

"You weren't there in the final days of the war!" Evy shouted bitterly, he spun to look at her, watching him with tears in her eyes, "You never saw what was born," she broke down into sobs, "You weren't _there_ …" the Master's eyes widened at the sight of his sister reduced to tears because of him, "You left me there to fight alone…you didn't see what happened…who fought, who died, who we lost…"

She looked up at him, straight into his eyes, and showed him her memories of the war. He could see her fighting in the front lines, the death, the destruction…her memory of being called to the Canyons of Eternity, where another platoon had been attacked, to look for survivors they knew they wouldn't find, only to stumble upon the body of their baby cousin Leda…only 107 years old, barely old enough to fight…

He stumbled back, pulling himself from the memories, not wanting to see any more.

"If the time-lock's broken then _everything's_ coming through," the Doctor added, "Not just the Daleks, but the Skaro of Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-Have-Been-King with his Army of Mean-Whiles and Never-Weres…"

"The war turning to hell!" Evy finished.

The Master looked between them, actually looking startled at the news.

"And that's what you've opened," the Doctor told him, "Right above the Earth. Hell is descending."

The Master smirked, "My kind of world!"

"Just listen! 'Cos even the Time Lords can't survive that!"

"They were planning the final sanction!" Evy shouted, the Master's head snapped to her, eyes wide in horror. She looked up at him sadly, "I _had_ to…" she whispered.

Another set of memories filtered through his mind.

He could see her, being removed from battle after getting word that he'd 'disappeared' after a bombing, assumed dead. He saw her in the general council room, having taken the place of their father, when Rassilon announced his plans for ending the war, for ending all of creation. He saw her telling this to their father, one of the former Presidents. He saw their father showing her 'The Moment' which he'd stolen from one of the Temples where it'd been guarded. He saw her hiding but watching as their father gave 'The Moment' to the Doctor, helpless to stop them from setting their plan to seal the planet in a time-lock in action. He watched, his hearts breaking, as their parents rushed her from her room, escaping the house as Daleks attacked and knowing it was only minutes until the Doctor activated 'The Moment.' He saw through her eyes as their father fell to the Daleks, giving them time to run. He saw their mother, crying, as she led Evy to the Untempered Schism and pushed her through it a moment before she herself was taken down by a Dalek...Evy falling to the Earth...landing with a terrible crash...

He gasped, falling on all fours as the onslaught of memories ceased. His sister had been a part of the time-lock, his own _family_ had helped, had given up everything, to put it in place…and he'd just tarnished their memory by breaking through it… _what had he done?_

"The end of time will come at my hand!" the President continued, unaware of what had just transpired, what had been revealed, "The rupture will continue until it rips the Time Vortex apart!"

"That's suicide!" the Master said sharply, realizing the madness his family and the Doctor had saved the planet from, what he'd just unleashed.

"We will ascend!" the President threw his arms out, "To become creatures of consciousness alone. Free of these bodies!"

The Doctor looked over at Evy sorrowfully, all their work, all their sacrifices were for nothing…he knew of her hand in the creation of the time-lock plan, he'd seen it when they first Linked…she'd lost _everything_ to save the planet, to help him stop the war, and now…

"Free of time and cause and effect. And where creation itself ceases to be!"

"You see now?" Evy breathed heavily, looking at her brother, "Do you see? _That's_ what they were planning in the final days of the war."

"We _had_ to stop them!" the Doctor shouted, furious.

"Then…take me with you!" the Master begged, tears in his eyes, "Lord President, let me ascend into glory!" it was his last chance to escape, to live…he was right, one day his sister would come to hate him, that day was today…he couldn't bear to see her look at him like that, to know how she felt…he needed to get out!

"You are diseased!" the President sneered, "Albeit a disease of our own making. No more!" the President raised his gloved hand, aiming it, as if about to strike the Master down.

"No!" Evy struggled in her chains, trying to break free. Despite how angry she was with her brother, he was _still_ her brother, she didn't ever want to see him _die_! Not again...

There was a loud click as the Doctor pushed himself to his feet and pointed the gun at the President, his finger on the trigger, trying to protect the man who had once been his best friend, the man who was his Link's brother.

Evy and Wilf stared at the Doctor, horrified at seeing him with the gun. Evy struggled harder, his mind was in chaos, he didn't know what to do, what he _would_ do, she needed to get to him!

"Choose your enemy well," the President threatened, "We are many. The Master is but one."

"But he's the President!" the Master smirked, "Kill him and Gallifrey could be yours!"

The Doctor turned suddenly, aiming the gun at the Maser instead. Evy gasped, her eyes wide seeing her Link aiming for her brother.

The President slowly lowered his glove.

" _He's_ to blame, not _me_!" the Master shouted, before realizing something, "Oh! The link is inside my head! Kill me, the link gets broken, they go back," the Doctor tensed, agreeing that this _was_ an option. The Master shifted, meeting his gaze, "You never would, you coward!" they remained locked, staring at each other, the certainty on the Master's face faltering, fear actually creeping into him. He tensed, realizing one more thing…the Doctor was Linked, he would do _anything_ to protect his Link, even if it meant killing _him_ , "Go on then. Do it!"

"Terrin!" Evy chastised him.

The Doctor blinked, Evy's voice breaking through his rampant thoughts. This was still her brother, his Link's brother...he couldn't...

He turned and aimed the gun at the President.

"Exactly!" the Master laughed, "It's not just me, it's him! He's the link! Kill _him_!"

"Terrin stop it!" Evy shouted.

"The final act of your life is murder!" the President sneered, "But of which one of us?"

The Doctor's breathing hardened as his thoughts shifted rapidly…he didn't want to kill either of them…but what could he do?

A slight movement behind and to the right of the President drew his attention…one of the women lowered her hands, revealing her face. His eyes widened as his entire expression morphed to one of sadness and regret as he watched a tear slip down the woman's face.

Evy gasped quietly, her eyes on the woman as well…oh God. She looked between the Doctor and the woman, watching the silent interaction, forcing herself not to listen to his thoughts as he spoke silently with his mother.

The Doctor spun around again, his gun aimed on the Master who looked suddenly lost and terrified. He could feel his mother and Evy's eyes on him as he stared down the Master.

"Get out of the way," he growled at the Master.

The Master stared at him a moment before he half smiled and dove to his left, landing right by his sister, just as the Doctor fired a shot at the machine producing the link that pulled Gallifrey and the Time Lords to Earth. The machine exploded in a ball of fire as the Master covered Evy from it.

The Doctor spun to face the President, "The link is broken!" he shouted triumphantly, "Back into the Time War, Rassilon! Back into hell!"

"Terrin," Evy gasped. He looked down at her, afraid she'd been hurt more, only to see her staring at the Time Lords, her eyes wide in shock. He followed her gaze to see the second weeping woman on the left had lowered her hands… _their mother_ …and she was looking at them with pride.

The Master felt tears well in his eyes at seeing her once more. She looked right at him, sad, but _proud_. So, _so_ proud.

"You die with me, Doctor!" the President shouted, raising his glove to destroy him.

Evy whimpered, "No…" she breathed, struggling with her chains.

"I know," the Doctor said calmly.

The Master looked down at her, seeing the tears streaming from her eyes as she fought her restraints. He looked back at the second woman, their mother, who just gave him the briefest of nods.

The Master took Evy's head in his hands, kissing her forehead one last time before standing up behind the Doctor.

He could do this...for _her_.

"Get out of the way," he demanded calmly, rubbing his hands together.

The Doctor spun around to look sharply at the Master and then jumped to the right as the Master fired a bolt of power right at the President's chest, forcing him to stagger back.

"You did this to me!" the Master roared at the President, "All of my life!" he fired another bolt, "You made me! One!" his skeleton flickered into view as he fired another bolt, sending one as he counted them off, "Two! Three! Four!"

With the last bolt a bright light filled the room as the Time Lords and the Master were dragged away, into the whiteness of the void. The Doctor scrambled to Evy's side, protecting her from the gusts as Gallifrey disappeared.

~8~

The Doctor awoke with a gasp, lying on the floor of Naismith mansion beside Evy, who was slumped against the equipment, still handcuffed. He looked over at the space where the Time Lords had stood moments ago, only to see them gone.

There was shuffle next to him and he looked over to see Evy waking up as well. He struggled to her side as her eyes fluttered and she looked at him, eyes wide, "You're alive…" she breathed.

"I'm alive!" he shouted, grabbing her face and kissing her hard, "I'm still alive!" he laughed, one that was a cross between laugh and sob, hugging Evy when suddenly…

Four knocks broke through their celebrations.

The Doctor stiffened as did Evy.

There were four more knocks, a hand tapping on glass.

He pulled back, staring into Evy's tear filled eyes, devastated.

Four more knocks.

He looked up to see Wilf standing in the booth, still trapped, waving weakly.

"They gone then?" he asked them, "Yeah, good-o. If you could, er, let me out."

The Doctor nodded sadly, "Yeah…" he said softly.

Evy let out a shuddering breath as the Doctor kissed her head and slowly stood.

"I mean, this thing seems to be making a bit of a noise," Wilf added anxiously as the box made a few clangs.

"The Master…" he began, "Left the nuclear bolt running. It's gone into overload."

"And that's bad, is it?"

"No. 'Cos all the excess radiation gets vented," he nodded at the glass booth, "Inside there…Vinvocci glass contains it. All 500,000 rads about to flood that thing."

"Oh. Well, you'd better let me out then."

"Except it's gone critical," the Doctor continued, Wilf's face fell, "Touch one control and its floods…" he pulled out his sonic, "Even this would set it off."

"I'm sorry…look, just leave me."

The Doctor smiled bitterly, putting the sonic back, "Ok, right then, I will. 'Cos you had to go in there, didn't you? You had to go and get stuck, oh yes!" he swallowed hard, realizing something, "'Cos _that's_ who you are, Wilfred. You were always this. Waiting for me, all this time."

"No, really, just leave me," Wilf said, tears in his voice, "I'm an old man, Doctor. I've had my time."

"Well, exactly, look at you! Not remotely important! But me? I could do so much more! _So much more!_ But this is what I get. My reward. And it's not fair!" he shoved a stack of papers off the desk near him as a sob rang out.

He looked back to see Evy, still handcuffed to the equipment, and he could feel his eyes filling with tears, knowing what he had to do. He didn't want to leave her, God he didn't want to leave her…he looked back at the booth, but he wouldn't be him if he didn't do this…he wouldn't be the man she loved if he didn't…

"I have to do this," he said softly, looking straight at her.

She twisted and looked up at him, tears streaming down her face as she struggled against the restraints. She didn't know where the keys were, she'd tried her powers but she couldn't get them to unlock the cuffs as she couldn't see the locks, and her sonic was in her back pocket, she couldn't reach it or see it…and she knew the Doctor wouldn't unlock her because he knew she'd try to stop him, take his place, as she had promised so long ago…

"No," Wilf shook his head as the Doctor walked towards the booth, "No, no, please! Please don't. No! Don't! Don't! Please. Don't. _Please_."

' _You can't die Theta,_ ' Evy's voice whispered to him, ' _You can't die. I've only just found you again…I can't lose you now…_ '

' _Then I won't,_ ' he promised her, ' _I'll fight it. I won't die, I'll just…change…_ ' he winced, ' _I'll survive this, for you. I swear._ '

He paused by the door, resting his hand on the handle and looked over at Wilf, "Wilfred, it's my honor," he took a breath, "Better be quick!" he stepped into the booth, "Three," he pushed the button to release Wilf, "Two," Wilf rushed out.

"Wilf!" Evy shouted, "Get me out! Get my sonic!" she nodded at her back pocket

Wilf ran over to the young woman as the Doctor pushed the last button, "One."

Wilf nearly sobbed as Evy tensed and cried out in pain at the same time as the Doctor. He grabbed the metallic wand from her back pocket and just hit a button, aiming it at the cuffs. They snapped open as the Doctor fell to his knees. Evy pushed herself away, half running, half crawling over to the booth.

"Doctor!" she sobbed as he fell to the floor in agony, collapsing in on himself, covering his head with his hands, "Doctor…" she whispered, placing her hand on the glass, resting her forehead against it as he convulsed with pain.

The lights went off as the power died down.

Evy could feel her hearts stop as he remained motionless, the Link was still there…he had to be…

His fingers twitched.

She let out a breath of relief as he began to move. He twisted, looking through the glass, right at her. She moved her hand on the glass, as he did, both just breathing a moment before he pulled himself up to sit.

"Hello," Wilf breathed, relieved to see him the same.

The Doctor let out a humorless laugh, "Hi," he said hoarsely.

"Still with us?" Wilf asked as the Doctor tiredly pushed himself to his feet.

"System's dead," he said as Evy stepped back, waiting till he stood completely, "I absorbed it all. Whole thing's kaput."

As soon as he was standing, Evy threw the door open and leapt at him, pulling him into a desperate kiss. He was a bit stunned at the sudden move, but kissed her back nonetheless. He almost smiled into the kiss as he could feel himself start to feel better…but then frowned when he realized he _was_ feeling better and not worse, which should have happened with 500,000 rads of radiation filtering through him.

He pulled away quickly, staring at her strained face, scrunching in pain. His eye widened, "What did you do?"

"You have so much you still want to do," she said, wincing, "You deserve your reward, but you wouldn't have had enough time unless I helped. The radiation was just fresh enough to..."

His eyes searched hers, "You absorbed it from me!"

"230,000 out of 500,000," she replied, just enough to be a leathal dose for the both of them, "It should give you enough time…"

He could feel tears pooling in his eyes as he realized she'd basically condemned herself to die as well, contaminated herself with the radiation to the point where she would surely die with him, "Why would you do that?"

"You're not going anywhere without me…" she smiled tensely at him, "Neither of us are walking off with someone else now."

He let out a shuddering breath and pulled her into a tight hug…she'd chosen to end her life, to be with him…

She pulled back a bit later and turned to Wilf, "You alright Wilf?"

He nodded, watching them, "Safe and sound…" but then pointed at them, "Mind you, you're both in a hell of a state. You've got some battle scars there."

The Doctor buried his face in his hands, wiping his fingers down his skin as though wiping away the injuries, to reveal a clean face, all healed up. He looked down at Evy to see her own cuts and bruises starting to fade as he reached out and stroked her face till they were gone completely.

Wilf gasped in shock, seeing them better, "But they've…your faces! How did you do that?"

Evy reached out and took the Doctor's hand, looking down at them, now unmarked, "It's started," she commented.

~8~

They headed back to Donna's house, not only to drop off Wilf, but to check on Donna. It could be a hard experience to have a Time Lord work through your mind, Evy had been careful not to excite her mind too much, sending it straight to sleep afterwards so it wouldn't be damaged. But she still wanted to make sure the ginger was alright.

They walked into the sitting room to see Donna lying, unconscious, on a sofa, covered in a blanket, Shaun sitting next to her with Sylvia kneeling beside her.

"Donna?" they heard Shaun ask, "Can you hear me? Donna?"

Sylvia looked up to see Evy and the Doctor walk in with Wilf, "Oh thank God!" she exclaimed, standing and rushing to them, "Can you help her? She won't wake up! What happened to her?"

Evy just laid a reassuring hand on the woman's shoulder and stepped past her, to kneel beside Donna.

"Donna," she called gently, reaching out to lay a hand on her forehead, "It's alright, you can wake up now."

Donna's eyes fluttered, her mind having recognized Evy's voice and letting her wake up. She frowned, looking up, "But…I was…what happened?" she looked over to see Evy smiling down at her, "Evy?" and the Doctor "Doctor? What happened?"

"You were amazing," Evy smiled, reaching forward to hug her friend.

Donna pulled back, concernerd, she could just tell something was off, "What's wrong?"

The Doctor stepped forward and hugged her as well, "Nothing," he pulled back, "We've got to be off though…"

"Will you stop by again?" Donna frowned, there was something they weren't telling her.

"Oh you'll see us again," Evy nodded, pushing herself up and walking out with the Doctor.

They got to the TARDIS when Wilf came running out after them.

"Where're you going?" Wilf frowned.

The Doctor swallowed hard, squeezing Evy's hand, "To get my reward."

They stepped into the TARDIS, shutting the door and taking off.

~8~

The first person they had to see after leaving Donna's was Martha. They appeared in a warehouse and just had to follow the gunshots. They could see Martha and what looked like Mickey Smith standing, huddled behind a wall on a lower level, looking at a map, unaware of the Sontaran standing on a nearby platform, aiming his gun at them. The Doctor ran into the TARDIS and pulled out his trusty mallet, walking over to the Sontaran, determined, whacking him straight in the probic vent, knocking him out.

Evy ran over to him, stepping around the Sontaran to lean against him, the two just watching Martha and Mickey look around.

"She broke it off with Tom," she said gently to the Doctor as they watched, recalling the last time she'd spoken to the woman, "He was offered a place in Africa, and Martha couldn't bring herself to leave England…she and Mickey were hitting it off last I spoke to them."

"They look happy," the Doctor smiled, squeezing her close to him as Martha and Mickey seemed to catch sight of them. They looked up, staring straight at them in shock.

"Hey!" Mickey shouted up at them, both of them jumping and waving.

Evy laughed, raising a hand to wave back as the Doctor nodded and turned to lead her away.

~8~

Next came Sarah Jane. They materialized on a street, the Doctor heading over to the house to check if she was home when…

' _Doctor!_ ' Evy shouted.

He spun around to see Luke strolling across the street, talking on his mobile, unaware of the car driving towards him.

The Doctor sprang into action, being closer than Evy was, running and barreling into him, pushing him out of danger and across to the other side of the street. As the car drove past, Evy ran over to them.

"It's you!" Luke gasped in shock, seeing the Doctor again.

"You need to be more careful Luke," Evy smiled, jogging over.

"And you!" his eyes grew wide as he stared at the two of them.

The Doctor smiled and walked back to the TARDIS with Evy as Luke called back, "Mum!" he ran across the street, looking carefully both ways, and over to his mother as she headed down her drive.

"What?" Sarah Jane asked, "What is it?"

"It's them!" Luke pointed over at them, "It's the Doctor! And Evy!"

Sarah Jane looked over, seeing the TARDIS with Evy and the Doctor standing before it. They glanced back over at her, both of them waving at her before stepping in.

~8~

They ended up in a bar next, where a variety of aliens were gathered. There were Raxicoricofallipatorians, Hath, Judoon, Graskes, a Sycorax, even an Adipose, among others.

But the man they were there for was Captain Jack, sitting at the middle of the bar. Evy was standing by the bartender, jotting down something on a note the Doctor had made on the back of a napkin and nodding over at the Captain.

The bartender walked over and passed him the note, "From those two over there."

He moved aside for Jack to see Evy and the Doctor standing there, near the back of the bar. He stared at them in surprise, when the Doctor nodded at the note. He looked down, opening it only to read 'His name is Alonso…' in the Doctor's scrawl. He looked back up, bewildered, when a young shipman slumped onto the stool next to him. He glanced at the man and then back to the duo, Evy made a twisting motion with her hand and he turned the note over to see her message 'Pretend you're psychic or something…'

He laughed, looking up as they gave him a small salute, which he returned, before they wandered off.

~8~

Next they ended up in a bookstore…not really on purpose. They were walking around, trying to find their way to UNIT to ask about the Brigadier when they saw a book signing going on, 'A Journal of Impossible Things,' and paused.

They walked in to see a woman who looked very much like Joan Redfern, the nurse from 1913, signing books. She was currently explaining the book to a fan, "No, it's not just a story, no. Every word of it's true. I found my great-grandmother's diary in the loft. And she was a nurse in 1913 and she fell in love with this man called John Smith. Except he was a visitor from another world travelling with two other women. She fell in love with a man from the stars but he loved someone else. And she…wrote it all down."

She handed the book over to the customer and got ready to sign the next one, which was put in front of her, the Doctor sliding it over as Evy stood beside him.

"And who's it for?" the woman asked.

"The Doctor and Evy," the Doctor replied.

She sighed, "'To the Doctor and Evy,' funny, those are the names he and Ms. Daniels used…" she stopped suddenly and slowly looked up at them.

The Doctor frowned, "Ms. Daniels?"

"Yes…" she answered slowly, seeing the resemblance of him to the man in the book, "Evelyn Daniels, the woman John Smith fell in love with, a traveler just like him even though he didn't know it…" she flipped open to a page in the book and held it up to show a sketch of the woman, Evy's previous incarnation, "The diary said she never had a chance once John saw her."

"Was she happy?" the Doctor asked, stunned, as he glanced at Evy who looked down, a bit bashful. She'd never told him about his time as John in relation to her, and now he was racing through the memories he'd seen when he'd Linked to her to find that particular adventure, "In the end?"

"I think she was," Evy said before the woman could answer, which didn't seem likely as she looked quiet stunned, "She's proof of that," she nodded at her.

"Yes," she answered, smiling at the thought that her existence meant her great-grandmother had been happy, "She was," she looked at him, memorizing the features of the man from the book, taking relief in knowing the fantastic story was true, "Were you?"

The Doctor just smiled and took Evy's hand. That was all the answer she needed.

Evy smiled down at the woman, picking up the signed book before she and the Doctor turned and walked out. The Doctor was focusing on Evy's memories of 1913. When he'd gained all her memories, he sort of flew through them, hadn't really had time to truly enjoy them as the Daleks were trying to break down the door. He hadn't really given a thought to the ones pertaining to 1913 as he thought Martha had told him everything…apparently not.

But then he smiled as well, he could see from her memories, John Smith had known that, deep down, he had loved Evy, even before _he_ realized it.

~8~

They'd missed the ceremony. Donna would kill them, they were sure, but they were there for the small reception gathering outside the church. They stood a bit to the side, watching as Donna and Shaun kissed and got ready for the pictures.

"Right then, come on then, you lot…" Donna commanded, getting them in order, "Get in! This photo is just with friends! Come on and I want all of you in it. Come on, that's it! Well, friends, and Nerys! Oh, I'm only joking! Oh, look at her!"

"Well, you made me wear _peach_!" the woman, Nerys, replied.

"That's 'cos you _are_ a peach!" Donna laughed, "Furry skin, stone inside, going off!"

"Ok, smile!" the photographer called, snapping the picture.

As the flash cleared, something caught Donna's eyes and they widened. She quickly whispered something to Shaun, before rushing down the steps, past her mother and granddad, and over to the blue box behind the gate.

"Evy!" she shouted, hugging the woman, "Doctor!" and him as well, "You made it!"

"Wouldn't miss it," Evy laughed as Wilf and Sylvia came to join them.

"We just wanted to pop in and give you our gifts," the Doctor smiled, happy to see Donna so happy. Evy handed her a small box and the Doctor an envelope. Donna looked around, wondering what to do with them when Evy led her away, as the Doctor was hounded by Sylvia and Wilf.

"Open it," Evy nudged her.

Donna looked down excitedly and pulled the ribbon off the box Evy had given her, pulling it open to see a pink piece of cloth. She pulled it out, gasping when she saw a 'Mini Temp' written on a little pair of baby pajamas, "I'm gonna be a mum?" she breathed, stunned.

"One day," Evy assured her, happy, "And she's beautiful Donna."

Donna stared at the fabric in shock before wiping her tears away and putting it back in the box. She went to open the gift from the Doctor when Evy stopped her, "The Doctor wants you to wait till we're gone," she smiled, "I just couldn't wait to see your reaction to mine."

Donna pouted but Evy laughed and led her back to the TARDIS as the Doctor was explaining his gift, "Thing is I never carry money, so I just popped back in time. Borrowed a quid off a really lovely man," he smiled at the Nobles as Evy walked over to his side, "Geoffrey Noble, his name was."

Sylvia's eyes widened as her hand went to her mouth, Donna's eyes filled with tears as she looked down at the little envelope, it was something of a gift from her dad as well then.

"'Have it,' he said," Evy smiled at them, taking the Doctor's hand, "'Have that on me.'"

The Doctor nodded at them before tugging Evy over to the TARDIS. They paused at the door, seeming to discuss something, when he sighed and turned, nodding at Donna, at the envelope.

Donna ripped it open to see a lottery ticket. She looked up at them, eyes wide, mouth open in shock, the Doctor just winked at her and stepped into the TARDIS with Evy.

Evy walked over to the console and began putting in instructions.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor frowned.

She looked up at him, "We've got, or rather you've got, one more trip to make."

"Where?"

"It's a stretch. It's a huge stretch, but it should work…"

She flipped a switch and the TARDIS was off, materializing moments later on a sidewalk in the middle of a small neighborhood, in the snow, at night.

The Doctor stepped out, looking around, confused. Evy led him to the middle of the street, waiting for him to realize where they were, when voices drifted over to them. He pulled her over to an alley, as two women slowly drew nearer.

"Too late now, I've missed it," the Doctor's eyes widened as he looked back at a smiling Evy, recognizing Rose's voice, "Midnight. Mickey's going to be calling me every minute. This is your fault!"

"No, it is not!" came Jackie's indignant response, "It's Jimbo! He said he was gonna give us a lift and then he said his axle's broke! I can't help it!"

"Get rid of him, mum! He's useless!"

"Listen to you! With a mechanic! Be fair though. In my time of life, I'm not gonna do much better."

"Don't be like that," Rose stopped her just outside the mouth of the alley, giving the Time Lords view of them, "Never know, there could be someone out there."

"Maybe. One day. Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year!" Rose smiled as she hugged her mother, "Don't stay out all night!"

"Try and stop me!" Jackie hurried away.

The Doctor slowly walked to the edge of the alley as Rose walked on, a pain struck him and he grimaced, groaning. Evy forced herself to remain where she was, further in the alley, she couldn't let Rose see her, this was something the Doctor had to do.

Rose turned around, "You alright, mate?"

"Yeah," he nodded, trying to rein in the regeneration's beginnings.

"Too much to drink?" she smiled.

"Something like that."

"Maybe it's time you went home."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, Happy New Year!" she said cheerily.

"And you!" he grinned. She turned to walk away and head inside when he called out once more, "What year is this?"

"Blimey, how much have you had?" she laughed as he shrugged, "2005. January the first."

"2005," he repeated thoughtfully, "Tell you what…" he swallowed, "I bet you're gonna have a really great year!"

"Yeah?" she asked, amused, he smiled, "See ya!" she waved at him and ran off to her home. The Doctor watched her go, smiling softly to himself. He turned and Evy walked over to him. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, planting a kiss on top of her head.

"Thank you," he whispered to her.

She smiled and nodded.

He suddenly groaned in pain and fell back against the wall. Evy sunk with him, her own regeneration pains starting as well. He was breathing heavily as he tried to stagger out of the shadows of the alley and over to the TARDIS, Evy running to his side and trying to support him as she struggled too. He collapsed to the ground, taking Evy with him, his eyes closed in agony.

"Doctor," she whispered, "Listen…"

They looked up to see Ood Sigma standing in the snow.

"We will sing to you, Doctor," he said, "And to you Evy. The Universe will sing you to your sleep."

The Ood song became clearer, filling them with the strength they needed to stand and stumble back to the TARDIS.

"This song is ending, but the story never ends," Sigma said as they reached the door.

Evy forced it open, helping the Doctor in as they struggled up the ramp, using the rails to support themselves. He pulled off his coat, throwing it over a beam before looking at his right hand which was glowing with the energy of regeneration. He looked over at Evy to see her hands glowing as well.

He reached out and took her hands, pulling her to stand with him by the console, hitting a lever and sending them off into space.

He looked down at Evy, tears in his eyes, "I don't wanna go," he whispered to her.

She gave him a sad smile, tears in her eyes as well, squeezing his hand, "We'll go together."

He pulled her to him and into his arms, both of them breathing heavily, golden energy swirling around them as they clung to each other. They threw their heads back as the regeneration hit them full force, still not letting go of the other even as fires began to spring up around them.

Moments later the energy died down and they stumbled away from each other, gasping as they looked down at each other.

Evy gave herself a quick glance over before looking up at the Doctor in amusement, he was enthusiastically checking himself over.

"Legs!" he shouted, grabbing his legs, "I've still got legs!" he then proceeded to kiss his knees in thankfulness, "Good!" and then patted his chest, "Arms!" and he noticed his hands, "Hands! Ooh, fingers! Lots of fingers!" and from there he moved over to his face, "Ears! Yes, eyes, two. Nose. Ooh, I've had worse. Chin!" he looked up at her, grinning widely, just taking in her new appearance, "Blimey..."

She was blonde now, her hair just a bit curly and shorter than before, down just an inch past her shoulders. Her eyes were hazel, the perfect mix of green and brown swirls, and her nose was button shaped. She was a bit shorter than her last incarnation, a bit shorter than the previous one as well, probably only half a foot taller than five feet, but then again, he felt like he might be a bit shorter as well. A strand of her hair seemed intent to fall over the side of her, just at the edge of her right eye.

He stepped up to her and brushed the strand behind her ear, "You're still beautiful," he whispered to her.

She smiled, reaching out to run her hands through his longer, if a bit floppy, hair, "And you're still not ginger," she giggled as he grabbed his hair and pulled it down to see for himself.

He grinned at her laugh, it sounded like tinkling bells, before pulling her to him for a kiss. They were only like that a moment before the TARDIS jolted violently with a massive explosion. They jumped apart, the Doctor looking at the console as though just realizing the damage their dual regeneration had done.

"Right, yeah," he muttered, "Probably not the best time to do that…"

She rolled her eyes at him, sharing a meaningful look with him before they both dashed to the console, "We're crashing," she shouted above the explosions.

The Doctor looked at her, grinning broadly, "Geronimo!"

They both held onto the console as it flew back towards the Earth.

To be continued...in...Linked Through Time!

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Regeneration, a new beginning. Believe me, for those of you who are fans of the Academic Series, if you thought Keta was bad in the flirting department...watch out for Thuna. River once said that she'd never seen them so distant as she had in the Library, we'll definitely start to see just how distant they were then because they are going to be uber close now that they've regenerated Linked. No more doubts, no more hesitations, no more holding back. They are on the same page, almost like the regeneration reset them, tuned them even more in to each other, this will be the first bodies that they are both Linked from the start in. I can't wait!
> 
> As for the new Evy, I picture her as being similar to the actress Emilie de Ravin, but with hazel eyes, not blue. I'm so excited for you to see what this new Evy is like.
> 
> I really want to thank everyone for your reviews as well, you guys are great!


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